Anchored To The Tide
by TeaseMe2
Summary: Defeating Slade Wilson was bitter sweet for Felicity, who's still trying to put a damper on her feelings for Oliver after his staged confession. As if there wasn't enough on their plate, Oliver learns something that will irrevocably change his life. Post Unthinkable drabble.
1. Chapter 1

So, fair warning, this is the product of my frustration with chapter 13th of my story From Russia With Love. If by chance you're reading it, it's coming, don't despair but I've been having trouble with parts of this chapter and its editing. Besides, my RL bullshit didn't help...And I will confess I'm a football/soccer nut, it's the World Cup, my team is winning hence the slacking off on the editing part.

Here, I've said my part, this is me writing something else to work out my frustration with FRWL. Throw me stones if you must, or enjoy this little Olicity drabble. ( Yes, I vote for the latter, in case you were wondering ;D ) Consider me all Mea Culpa'ed ;) But really, don't blame me, blame the game- it's too damn addictive.

That said, you know the drill...**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Oh and one last thing, the title of this little drabble comes from a fabulous song I'm in love with, 'Almanac' by The Acorn. Go listen to it...yes, I'm talking to you, reader ;)

**- Anchored To The Tide -**

Days after the unthinkable happened, Felicity was still thinking about it. He had said the three little words she longed to hear from him, in the Queen manor. At first, she was angry, furious even, that he had deviated from their script to include those words. She spent hours churning them around her head, in the privacy of her own home, unable to sleep in the night. Long past the surprise she had felt when he pronounced those words, the anger lingered.

She tried to move on, telling herself it wasn't going to become a problem between them, putting her best poker face for him as he had told her they sold it together, that they beat him together, bested the evil, doped up megalomaniac that once upon a time was his friend, and she had forced a smile on her mouth. She could not help but ponder his words, trying to discern whether she was imagining an emotion in his voice that was never there, when he confessed for Slade Wilson's prying eyes.

On her pro list, she put the unnecessary move- as they had already agreed she would offer herself up as bait for the mad man, hoping to best him at his own game and sweep the rug under his feet. And they had. He never saw her coming that night, too infused with ghosts of his past and torturing his trapped target, to even consider that the danger would come from a well placed needle jab, right under his nose. Not once had he thought his demise would come from the nerdy blonde he had mistakenly assumed would be the damsel in distress in their story. Ah, as if she would ever fall for that, she could handle herself and she proved it, rewarding Oliver's confidence in his partner's ability to support him- both in an out of the field- by sticking one Aussie villain with a needle full of the Mirakuru cure as soon as Oliver had flicked his eyes to the side, green lighting her move.

Why then was she stuck in limbo, thinking about that night over and over, every single time she had a minute? It was bordering on obsession, but she couldn't help it. It was a curious little music in the background of her life lately, something she tried to store in a box, deep inside the recess of her mind. Only to open it later in the day, often when she was alone in her home, most often than not mere minutes after getting on her bed, tossing and turning, shrugging the covers off, hoping to clear her mind and get some sleep. She was starting to become a pro at sleeping in shifts, one hour here and there, napping in the day when her computers were running searches in their new foundry or discreetly nodding off at work, nestling her neck against her head rest from time to time.

To the untrained eye, there was nothing new in their dynamics, except their circumstances. For starters, Oliver had lost almost everything when he signed his company away to Isabel Rochev, including the perks of a crusade funded by the profits his shares of the company generated. He lost his sister to another mad man, just not the one he was expecting to lose her to, contrary to her mother who had succumbed to Slade's wrath of her own albeit coerced free will, choosing to give her life for her children without hesitating a minute.

Once his adrenaline came crashing down, her favorite vigilante withdrew from their team. The change might have seemed almost intangible, but it was there. Diggle had seen it just as well and they could often be found whispering about their favorite billionaire, trying to provide him with what he needed from them to get through that horrible ordeal. He was cutting himself off from feelings, denying the reality and she was afraid of the darkness that threatened to overtake him. His actions had always weighed on him, even back when the vigilante was killing people, the toll it took on his soul never diminished but it seemed heightened these days, as if he was slowly sinking into a pit of despair.

He had tried to tell Detective Lance that it was a hefty price to pay on that night, but the man was too far gone, too worried for Laurel to understand what Oliver was telling him. Of course, she could understand Lance, it was his daughter's life at stakes and he wanted everything he had hated about the vigilante geared towards saving her. Still, she found it incredibly unfair and unbelievably cruel to expect one man to do the unthinkable. That Detective Lance asked was only the ironic cherry on top of the metaphorical cake. Perhaps was it the Universe's way of telling them that things were out of their control? That no matter what actions they decided upon, they would always fail because the dice had already been rolled? She couldn't accept that, wouldn't allow it.

Felicity was determined to pull them back together, no matter what it took. Even if they had to relieve that moment, no matter how raw their wound still was; Oliver had deviated from their script for a reason, and her crazy heart wanted to believe it was because he meant it. Her head would then fight for a more reasonable explanation, he had done what he needed to do in the spur of the moment to make Slade believe with no room for doubt. Their plan needed to work, it was crucial, not only for them to win over Wilson or to save Laurel, but for thousands of people in the street of Starling City, suffering at the hands of pumped up brutes trained to spread chaos. And if they didn't succeed? Amanda Waller was ready to level down the city with a flick of her thumb, so yes, it was crucial that their plan worked. And herein lied the reason why Oliver had lied to her, something he could never do, for the greater good.

On a bad day she fantasized about having that discussion with him, trying to understand his point of view and pointing his inconsistencies back to him as he tried to deny his feelings and slammed the door on their connection, never mind what he knew. Of course he did, how could he not? He had to have seen the lingering glances, the red tint her cheeks took when she watched him climb up and down on their salmon ladder, her reaction to Isabel. Besides, he knew the signs, he ought to by now, if his womanizing self held any truth to it.

As she got up to get a glass of water, Felicity didn't see the man in question take a peak in her window to follow her movement with his eyes. She could not have, he had timed his move perfectly and was placed ideally on her balcony to avoid any detection of his peeping tom routine by his perceptive partner. She could not know that he came to her every night, she would have too many questions he did not have an answer for. She deserved better, he knew it like he knew his arrows, she was too good for him and he would only taint her if he were to ever act upon his feelings.

So he watched her, he came every night to her balcony to check on her, make sure she wasn't in any danger while he was patrolling the city or pursuing the villain of the week. He had done the unthinkable once, he had put the woman he loved in the clutch of his worst enemy because it was the best fucking strategy. Against his better judgment, but damned if he was going to let her be in that position ever again. Not on his fucking watch, not anymore, just no...not an option, neither for Oliver Queen nor his hooded persona, Felicity Smoak was far too important to his crusade to be lost in battle.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to cope if she were to become one of the ghosts haunting his days and nights. So he watched over her, hoping to ward off the evil and keep her fears at bay in the darkest of the night. Still, days after he had done the unthinkable, he couldn't delude himself into thinking he was doing it for her own benefit anymore. He knew better, deep down inside of him. He was frightened to lose her, period.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Special thanks for the first alert to this little drabble, and the first reviewer:

**emilyhotchner-olicity-bethyl :** Glad you liked it, hopefully this will help ;)

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 2 -**

The phone call came on a Thursday, about two months after they left Slade Wilson in Lian Yu, while she was dozing off at the foundry on a slow afternoon. Oliver was taking a shower, one of the only perks of the new foundry, compared to their old basement bound lair in Verdant, when his official phone rung. As per usual, Felicity answered it, still acting as an EA to manage the life and holdings of one impoverished Queen heir.

Though Felicity was charitable enough to never say anything to him, the former golden boy was having a laughable go at things, having been cocooned his whole life, with someone always on hand to do the common work in his stead. He was ill equipped to handle day to day stuff common mortals were used to, like doing his own laundry or paying his bills, and Felicity would be lying if she said it wasn't funny to see him trying to make sense of those things. Up to the point where she could see him frowning at something, his frustration written all over his face.

He had needed her before, as his partner, in his public and hidden life alike, and that had not changed with his bankruptcy. His need had perhaps even amplified, now that he could not rely on his money to accomplish certain sensitive tasks on his behalf any longer. He was reluctant to ask for help, proud as he was, but Felicity was determined to provide it nevertheless. Come hell or high water, he would let her be of assistance, in any way she possibly could, she would make sure he wasn't alone to shoulder his burden. She was a bit harsh with him, he had survived five years on a hellish island on his own- well almost- but tended to get frustrated too damn easily when arrows weren't involved. So she had taken it upon herself to help him get back on his feet, offering him a double of her apartment key in case he wanted to sleep in a real bed for a change, instead of an inflatable mattress thrown on the floor of their new lair. So far he hadn't come by once, but she wasn't losing hope he would come to his senses.

Oh she was still angry with him, sometimes giving him the silent treatment whenever he would ask about her love life. As if he was stupid enough not to know he had broken her heart that night. She was not going to crumble before his eyes, she wasn't that type, but she couldn't avoid the endless loop running through her mind with his words, those damn words he just had to say. And then, like an asshole, he just had to bear and grin, tell her they had 'sold it together'. The nerve of the man, she wasn't gonna high five him for a job well done, so she ruminated quietly, but never said another word on the subject. She wasn't a teenager, and grown women didn't stoop to such low levels. At least not this one.

So, she put her best poker face on and ignored the big, bright, pink elephant in the room- no reason she shouldn't follow his lead, right?

"You're gonna get that, Felicity? I would, but I'm still just his black driver," Diggle teased, winking at the distracted blonde. She glared, snorted at their running joke and answered the ringing device.

"This is Oliver Queen's phone, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I'd like to speak with Mr Queen, please."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he's not available right now. May I take a message and your number, so that Mr Queen is able to reach you whenever he has a moment in his schedule?"

"Of course, he's busy," retorted the elderly voice in a polite yet clipped tone, she gave her contact information to Felicity, before adding snidely, "make sure he calls back, it's about his daughter. Have a good day, dear," and she hung up, leaving Felicity to gasp out loud, drawing Diggle's attention to her as she put the phone back on the table.

"Felicity? What's it?"

"Oh Dig, he's...Oh my god," she whined to the ex military man who put his hand on her arm.

"Breathe, Felicity," he told her as she felt the anxiety surging through her veins.

A child. Oliver had a child. Holy freaking fudge, he had a little girl. She had trouble wrapping her mind around the last nuke thrown in their backyard, as if life wasn't hard enough for him, now this? Felicity started to think about every last one of their conversations, to see if the man had ever given him any hint of his parenthood to her, she wondered but didn't want to believe that he could know and never tell her, much less forgo a relationship with his child. Then again, he had been stranded on a purgatory island for five years...well, minus his time with Amanda Waller and God knows who or what else he had encountered these years on or off that god forsaken island.

She believed in him, Oliver was a good man, she had to trust he wouldn't let his own flesh and blood grow up as a fatherless child, much less without knowing his dad was back from the dead. That wasn't the Oliver she knew. Her Oliver, the man who gave his blood, sweat and tears to better the city that saw him grow up, the one who spent his nights ticking off random names in a worn out notebook to right his beloved father's wrongs, that Oliver would never do that to an innocent child. He was not like her absentee father, he wouldn't be that cruel to his own daughter, probably an innocent little darling, leaving her to wait for a sign to explain what she did wrong to make her daddy leave...

"Felicity?" Oliver shook his hand back in forth in her vision line though she failed to react, offering nothing to the worried, shirtless man trying to get her attention. He turned to the third member of their team. "Dig? What the fuck happened? What's wrong with her?"

"Don't ask me man, she took a call on your phone," he retorted to Oliver as he shook the stoic woman on her chair, she seemed to space out, removing herself from the current situation to seek asylum in her own mind.

"Felicity, what the hell is going on?"Oliver snapped his fingers twice in front of her face.

Snapping back to reality, Felicity shook her head off, focusing back on the confused man she knew so well, wondering how the hell she was going to break it to him. It would be the second time, already, that she had to be the bearer of bad news for the damaged vigilante she loved. She was perfectly aware that she could never hide it completely from him, but she hoped, for their sakes, that she did a decent job enough burying her feelings for him on a regular basis. Loathing to tell him what she learned, knowing well enough how much it would hurt him, she had to drop her stare to their feet, avoiding his eyes while she prepared to break his heart. All over again.

"I...erm...There was a call, earlier- on...on your phone? I answered, since you were still in the shower, obviously, otherwise you would have probably...erm picked it up yourself, right? I mean, that would be the polite thing to do. But- but...when you think about it, there is only two way it could have ended. It's a phone, ringing, Oliver, I'm sure even you can only do two things. Either you pick it up, or you let it ring, right, so, of course I-"

"Felicity? Short version, please?"

"Right, I'm doing that thing that I do all the time, aren't I? And you know I do it, when I'm..." Felicity trailed off, moving her hands to make her point, coughing embarrassingly as her cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry, I'm just- maybe you need to sit down?"

Oliver watched her carefully, following her finger as she pointed to the chair, silently assessing the clues she was sending him. Wild eyes, check, panicked look, check, over use of hand gestures, check, and if need be he might as well add the obvious tell, her endless babbling, check. His girl Friday was anxious. Whatever or whoever rather had been on the other line of that phone call, it had clearly frazzled her. She was rattled but tried so hard, he surmised, to rein it in. She was always so eager to be seen as a tough gal, a true partner in their endeavors, a part of their team, that she wouldn't allow herself to be any less than what they all were.

No matter that Dig was ex military or that Sara and him had been put through hell in order to toughen up, no, Felicity wanted to be an equal to them. And she was, she brought much more than raw strength to the table, though she had those in spades too, she just sometimes forgot that it didn't necessarily meant muscles. She was the heart of their team, that little slip of a girl held them in check when they failed, geared them towards new successes...He wouldn't be half the hero he tried to be today without Felicity Smoak. Of that he was certain.

"I need to tell you something, Oliver, please, sit down," she said softly as she guided him to her vacant seat.

"I don't need to sit down, Felicity. Whatever it is that you have to tell me, just say it," he assured the struggling blonde who bit on her lip, nodding her agreement.

"OK," she sighed heavily and looked in his eyes. "On the phone, earlier? It was a woman, she wanted to speak with you and she left me her name and number-"

"So what? No problem, I'll do it-"

"Oliver, she said you had a daughter."

Each time she had to do this to him, it took its toll on her soul, this once not excluded. She watched him crumble down before her eyes, squeezing his fist against his chest, with his eyes wide open. Felicity heard the pain in his voice as he asked for more, trying to wrap his head around the news, his brain unable to process the fact that he was a father, to a little girl out there, somewhere he wasn't. It wasn't the Arrow, nor Oliver Queen in the foundry that night, but a shattered man, howling his anguish in the dark, at the unfair cruelty the Universe seemed so keen to throw in his face time and time again, despite his efforts to be a better man. It seemed he was condemned to repeat his father's pattern and fail miserably all those he loved. No matter which angle he tried to consider, no matter what course of action he decided upon, his fate seemed sealed with darkness and pain, the only constant sequence he could run his life through these days.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 3 -**

"Calm down, Oliver, it's gonna be alright," she cut off the frightened man fidgeting in front of her, a rare role reversal she would enjoy tremendously if it didn't cause so much pain to the damaged vigilante she loved.

His odd behavior was a simple by product of the fear he held at the idea of meeting his kid. The child he didn't know existed until last week, who had been thrown into his path by a bitter grandmother who never liked Oliver. Never mind that she had never met him, she had made her opinion crystal clear on the reformed playboy over the phone. The elderly woman had been expecting them to drop everything and just come pick her up, simple as that. She seemed inconvenienced, if anything, by the child her own daughter had left in her care when she died, probably for a lack of more suitable options.

Felicity was appalled at the woman's behavior, she was irked that she would consider any child of Oliver's a bother, something that had to be dealt with sooner rather than later, to avoid any drastic change in Grandma's grand lifestyle apparently. How could she do that to a child? Felicity would be horrified, no matter whose child it was, it was a matter of principles. That, and basic human decency. A kid was innocent, in no way responsible for their parents misgivings and it was unfair to treat them any other way, period.

"Oh yeah, really Felicity? I don't have the slightest cue what to with a kid, shit my life is complicated enough as it is, you think an innocent child will be a good fit for the mess my life is in right now?" He scoffed, turning towards the bubbly blonde who was much too grave to amuse him with one of her babbling spell right now.

"Your child, Oliver, she's yours," she answered softly. His eyes were pleading with hers, stormy blue slitting to her face, waiting for her to deliver him of his new found burden. She'd love to give him the answers he was seeking, to be his oracle, and serve them to him on a silver platter. Unfortunately, she simply couldn't, didn't have anything to give him but her full support, trying to navigate the mess his life had turned into right by his side. She didn't know how to do better, how to make it better for him, no matter how much she might wish it.

Her heart ached for him, Felicity always did her best to be the partner he deserved, but there was no chapter on fatherhood in the Super Hero Manual, nothing on life altering circumstances such as those.

"I know, Felicity," he mumbled, "but what am I supposed to do, huh? What kind of life would I give her?"

"Oliver-"

"No, really, Felicity...What the fuck am I supposed to do? Can you picture me as a father? And then what? How would a child- I'm just..." Oliver trailed off, trying to ride off the shudder that coursed through his wrecked body. "A part time father one hour here and there when I'm not trying to save QC? Or hell, when I'm not pumping some asshole full of arrows? Have you thought about that, our nighttime activities? Who will watch her while I'm jumping from building to building trying to save our city?"

"Oliver...You can't think like that-"

"But it's what I do, Felicity, I'm a killer," he pressed in a strangled voice. "Hell, what kind of example do you think that's gonna set for my kid? And what about later, when she understands her daddy isn't there at night, isn't in the house? What if she asks questions? What will I say? Hush little baby, don't you cry, daddy's gonna put an arrow through the bad guys?" He snorted as he paced around the room, mumbling along the way. "Fuck, I can't believe my mom didn't tell me anything. She probably knew I wasn't cut out for it..."

Tuning out his monologue, Felicity crossed the room to him at a brisk pace, raised her hand and slapped him. Hard. The loud thwack echoed through the room as Oliver watched her incredulously, touching his burning cheek with his palm, as if he hadn't fully understood what she had done yet.

"What the fuck, Felicity?" He roared angrily, frustration blazing through his piercing glare.

"Are you done?" She asked, leveling him with one of her 'don't-mess-with-me look'.

"What was that for?" He demanded as petulantly as a pouting little boy would have. He was hurt, upset and insecure about his next course of actions- something he loathed after years of captivity on the island and off it, in the crutches of the ruthless bitch that was Amanda Waller.

"What do you think? Are we back to that? Would you care to enlighten me with another one of your self depreciating spiel? You can't always doubt what you do, Oliver." She stepped closer to him, smiling sadly as she laid her hand on his arm, tugging him towards her. "You're not a monster, Oliver," she whispered, "and I know, from time to time, the going might get tough-"

"That's a fucking understatement," he muttered as he rolled his eyes at his bubbly little blond of a tech genius, the woman that he had chosen to hold at arm's length- for her own damn good, even though his heart tended to rebel against what his mind thought best. She was his center, the one he searched for and turned to, whenever he had his doubts, his partner.

Oliver knew she had thought he was humoring her, at first, when he said it, but he believed in their team, in what they did under the cloak of his hood and she was just as essential to their crusade as Diggle was. He'd be lost without his babbling partner and not only for his own amusement. Though she did provide that as well, with her randomness tinged with awkwardness sometimes. She was there to pull him out of his depressing train of thoughts whenever he struggled to find the right path, she supported him and he needed the strong belief she faithfully placed in him, no questions asked.

"You'll do your best, Oliver, nothing less, nothing more," Felicity tried to comfort but her favorite bow wielding, playboy extraordinaire snorted loudly. "I know it's cheesy, and believe me, I feel like a walking cliche just saying it, but it's true. Don't you know why I believe in you? I saw something in you, something that I couldn't describe but it told me to trust you right from the start, as foolish as it might have been. Do you remember when I brought you Walter's notebook?" She paused to see the recollection in his eyes as he nodded at her to continue, she took a deep breath and laid herself bare, open to the heavy scrutiny of his thoughtful stare.

"Do you?" Felicity prompted, trying to get a reaction from the despondent man.

"No."

"Because I needed someone to share that burden with, Oliver, it was selfish. I needed to tell someone about the notebook after Walter disappeared. I chose to tell you because I thought it was important and I could trust you, yes, but mostly because I needed to talk with someone-"

"And you went with me?" The last Queen in town interrupted, incredulous.

"Well yeah, you have a trustworthy face, and you were his step-son. Never mind, that's not the point-"

"Perhaps, but we seriously need to work on your people skills, Felicity, because 'you have a trusting face is really going to land you in hot waters one of these days," he retorted with a soft smile, brushing her cheek with his knuckles while he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It got me in your little vigilante club, didn't it? And I was right," she told him proudly. "Perhaps it was a risk, fair enough. But Oliver, I would never be a part of your team if I hadn't taken it, and I'm glad I did. I know you worry, but I love what we do, I lo- erm...love our work, you know that. I feel useful, I feel good about myself because what we do matters on the grand scheme of things, Oliver. Don't shake your head like it's nothing, it is and it does. I understand it takes a special toll on your soul- well not really understand, understand, because...Well, you know, I'm not the one who has to put the fear of God into the bad guys and I'm not the one who does the killing either. Thank God for that. Not that you do a lot of that these days, but you know what I mean. I understand, and I'm here, Oliver, whether you like it or not. We're partner, remember? Or were you just saying it to appease me?"

She watched him confirm the veracity of his statement, back then, with a negative shake of his head. "Good, I'm glad you weren't just humoring the blonde. Anyways that's not the point, Diggle, you and me, we're going to figure it out- Starling City, Waller, The Suicide Squad...or what's left of it anyways...And whatever will come, we will always support you, you know that right? A child isn't going to change that. And I'm sure Raisa would help, I'd bet she'd love that, to help raise another generation of trouble making Queens. And if she can't, I will. Though I'm not really an expert on kids either, I'm confident whatever we need to know can be found online." She smiled softly to Oliver, squeezing his hands with hers, trying to reach him into the depths of his self created inferno, a constant turmoil of childhood reminiscence, guilt, anger, regret and self harm he imposed on his own psyche.

"I know it's not ideal, and she literally got dropped on you, but circumstances are what they are, Oliver, you can still love your child. Don't let her suffer for something she never did, she's just an innocent kid who's already lost a mom and is stuck with a grand mother who'd rather have her off her back. She's probably sad and scared, Oliver. Your little girl...Would you rather picture that? Get to know her, care for her. Believe me, children don't demand much but love and attention from their parents, Oliver. Don't you remember that from your childhood?"

She thought about her own past, the love she never had, all the years spent wondering what she could have done better, but her tormented partner needed to figure things out for himself. The best she could do was to help steer him onto the right path. Though she wasn't sure what she considered to be right should be the guiding force behind his decisions. Felicity hoped he would take her plea at heart and feel for the poor child, his daughter, who wasn't much younger than she was back then, when her dad had left them...Not only because of her own absentee father, but for the man she believed Oliver to be. That man wouldn't sweep a child under the rug like a minor problem, even if his circumstances weren't ideal. She had to believe that he wouldn't turn away from his own defenseless child. The poor sweetheart had to be sick with grief over her mother's death, she needed someone in her corner, someone like Oliver.

To put it bluntly, she needed for her father to man the fuck up. And try as she might, Felicity wasn't sure she could overlook the deep disappointment, the heart break he would force on her once more, if he turned away from his own flesh and blood because he was too damn scared.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**And to my **guest reviewer** : thank you so much, I'm glad you like it! You know him, he's stubborn and really his own worst enemy sometimes. While I think Felicity has this strong belief within her, in their fight and in Oliver, she's made up her mind, and she's gonna stick to it. That's not to say she won't disagree with him ;) Anyways thank you for taking the time to comment on my little drabble, I hope you like this one just as much.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 4 -**

"Look at her, Oliver," she said softly as they looked through the glass panel in the door, watching the frightened little girl huddled on the hospital bed.

His daughter was curled up in a ball, warily observing the scene from her side of the bed. Her grandmother was pointing towards them with cold detachment, as if she wasn't handling off her last living relative to a man she hated on principle and a woman she knew nothing about. Felicity had hoped that she wouldn't scare the child any more than she already had, breaking the news gently to her instead of handing her over like an unneeded burden. Taking Oliver's hand, she steered them to the door in a resolved effort to spare the little girl some pain and reassure her that she would be well cared for, loved even. She felt his hand shake in her but opened the door nevertheless, forcing Oliver to confront the situation he dreaded.

"Relax, Oliver, you've faced worst than your daughter. Come on, smile. She needs to trust us," she whispered to the man besides her as they crossed the room to meet his kid.

He gratified her with a grunt, squeezing her hand harder with every step they took. The closer they approached, the less he felt able to face his child. There was this irrepressible fear gnawing at his insides while he tried to catalog her features in his head, laying his eyes upon her for the very first time. He wanted to keep this picture seared in his mind, no matter what happened from that point forward. Oliver felt his heart gave a wild lurch, something instinctive, primal that wrecked his chest when he observed the little girl on the bed. Her mussed up hair was a shade darker than his own blonde, with more curls than he ever had, though perhaps they were similar at that age, he'd have to dig up the family picture album to be sure.

Though one thing was staring him right in the face, leaving no doubt whatsoever that she was his- if the cute, chubby little face had not given her away yet, those baby blue eyes were all him. They had the same endless pools of cerulean, both wiser than they should have been, silent observers as Felicity talked a bit with his child's grandmother.. Oliver's mouth twitched a bit when his daughter mirrored his own attitude, and a glance to his smiling partner told him that she knew it just as well. She was scrutinizing the newcomers with interest, probably assessing whether they were a threat, just like her father, Diggle would probably have joked if he had joined them on their trip to retrieve his kid. Emma finally sat down, balancing her legs in rhythm, probably as anxious as he was to meet the people who would take care of her from now on. He watched absently Felicity take a file from the elder woman, crossing the room again, stopping a few inches away from the bed his daughter was sitting in.

"Hi there, I'm Felicity," she waved to the little girl.

"Hi," she mumbled, looking down more invested in watching Oliver than the bubbly blonde by his side. "Who are you?" She demanded, sitting on her heels to get a better view of his face, his height not impressing her in the least.

Her grandmother had plainly told them that she had not intention of wasting any more time on the child and thanks to the bitter old woman, the big daddy reveal had landed on their plates. Oliver was already feeling way out of his depth, and he had no clue how he was supposed to tell a child he didn't know existed that he was her father. Oliver fidgeted while he tried to come up with the words he could say to the kid, his daughter, to reassure her and explain who he was.

But how can you tell a child you're their father? That you had no idea they even existed and probably never would have known if her mother hadn't died? Oliver was so angry at her, he felt awful for some of the thoughts crossing his mind, blaming her yet happy he knew, unsure of what to do next...His head was a mess of back and forth arguments over what the best course of action would be, not only for him, but mostly to protect his kid and ensure she had the best care she could get. He took his hand back from Felicity, to grip his hair and squeeze his neck, his anxiety palpable in the room.

"I'm...erm...I'm Oliver," he finally answered her, waiting for her next move to decide what he would do, analyzing their meeting like a battlefield, his instincts honed on his daughter.

"Grandma says I have to go with you."

"She's right," he held her eyes with his own, trying to show her he meant no harm.

"Why?"

"Err...because...um- I'm-"

"Because you grandmother is too old to care for you all the time, sweetheart," Felicity interjected.

"Why?"

"She's right, Emma, your mother never intended for me to raise you in case anything happened to her," her only living relative, besides the father she didn't know she had, retorted coldly, scolding the poor child.

"Right," Felicity started, but approached closer the bed, kneeling besides it. She took the little girl's hand in hers, softly continuing, trying to explain to her why she was going to be taken from everything she'd known up until that point."Oliver knew your Mom a long time ago and she wanted him to take care of you if something happened to her. Do you understand, sweetie?"

"I think," she nodded solemnly, heaving a sigh while Felicity rubbed her arm.

"It's gonna be OK, darling, you'll see. Isn't it Oliver?"

"Right- err...yes, of course," he grunted awkwardly. Thank God for Felicity, who was surprisingly at ease with his kid. Though he should know by know that her possibilities were limitless whenever she set her mind to it, his daughter notwithstanding the contagious happiness she left in her wake.

He was rather out of his element until his daughter snorted at him, another thing he hadn't seen coming. She laughed at him. One of those childish little giggles washed over him and he couldn't help but smile. Felicity gave him an encouraging wiggle of her eyebrows, shifting her eyes to the bedside- which he assumed was his clue to come closer, and he approached slowly.

"Well then," the elderly woman clapped as she reached for her bag, already in the starting blocks to leave. "You've met and we've signed all the papers you need, I think that's my cue to go."

"B-but...Grandma?" He watched the understanding settle in his daughter's face as her grand mother kissed her cheeks.

"I'll see you later this year perhaps, Emma, be good dear." She added, swiftly shaking both their hands before turning on her heels and leaving, without a backward glance for her only grand child.

"So, it's just us, kid. How about we get out of here and get some ice cream?" Felicity tried to bribe Oliver's daughter into leaving, distracting her from her grandma's short comings with food when her eyes filled with tears, her bottom lip trembling slightly as his blonde genius babbled on. "I mean, you like ice cream, right? Every kid loves it. I know I did, when I was your age, and I bet Oliver did too...so what do you think, Em? Can I call you Em? You can call me...well, Felicity, I don't really have a nickname. Perhaps you'll help me pick one out?"

Oliver watched as his daughter chewed thoughtfully on her plump bottom lip, seemingly thinking about it and probably weighing the pros and cons of the ice cream bribe, and quite possibly half confused about Felicity's demeanor. He was pleading with his mind to come up with something, anything really, that could save them from awkwardness. Like father like daughter it seemed in that case, she smiled a toothless grin to his Tech wizard and answered, taking Felicity's babble in stride, saving him the trouble of countering the awkward rants he had come to expect from his partner. Hell, he'd even admit to a bit of disappointment whenever she refrained. Diggle and him sometimes bet on the time she would spend without babbling, teasing her endlessly whenever she broke a personal record. He wouldn't change her though, he cared too much for her and her babbles were also refreshing. She told the truth, bluntly and awkwardly maybe, but he also relied heavily on her honesty. Oliver needed her just as much as the Arrow, but he wouldn't change anything about her, she had wormed her way into his damaged heart, flaws and quirkiness be damned.

"I want chocolate," his daughter requested seriously, there was no laughing matter with ice cream flavor apparently. "And 'Licity? I like your name, it's pretty," she added softly.

"Thank you, sweetheart...Ah, well alright, chocolate it is. Say no more, miss Emma, you're my kind of girl," Felicity winked to the smiling, mischievous child as she fist bumped her, eliciting another peal of laughter from her.

Oliver was fascinated, looking on his girls like an outsider, not sure when to join him nor how to interact with his daughter, but immensely grateful for his blonde genius and her easy going dispositions. Her babbles could get her into so much troubles sometimes, it was very fortunate for him that it could also speak kid, because he was way in out of his head, again.

Slade Wilson had precipitated his demise when he hadn't understood that she was his secret weapon. Let that be a lesson for all his foes, he knew there would be other battles for the future of their city and he knew he could count on her, no matter the cost for her. He knew they had things to hash out together, he wasn't a goddamn idiot, he knew she was still angry with him. Yet, he couldn't help but than the big man upstairs for his lucky charm everyday. Thank God Walter had sent him to her desk and not another pimpled faced, geeky kid at QC's IT department, back then. Today was just another instance he could use to justify his initial assessment. Felicity Smoak was truly remarkable.


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

And to** Laura**, who reviewed, thank you so much :)

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 5 -**

Oliver Queen was a tormented man, tortured by the ghosts of his past. Felicity knew it, Diggle knew it, hell even the man himself knew it. They were patient with him, never asking for more than he could give, but pushed whenever they felt it was necessary. Felicity believed in their team, as a whole, but also in each of them, and she knew Oliver counted on their different skill sets. She brought her Tech know how to the table, Diggle would often joke that she was their Oracle, giving them answers with every technology she could get her hands on, bypassing governments agencies to advance their work and so forth. She had once teased that she should add personal internet researcher for Oliver Queen in her resume, and she could have- what with the numerous times she had saved their asses back when she was an honorary member of their team and did not yet know Oliver's secret, with her thorough research and quick thinking, her ability to hack into pretty much anything had come into handy more than once.

But Felicity believed equally strongly that she was more. More than the tech wizard this team so desperately needed in today's world. They needed her computer expertise, sure, though she liked to think that Oliver wanted her ethics as well, the morality she infused into their crusade. He had hinted more than once that she was his moral compass, the one he turned to whenever he had a desire for another point of view, despite her unchecked honesty, Felicity believed in him. He had put her on a pedestal of sorts, she was fervently against killing anyone, unless desperate times called for it, so it meant all the more for him to have her unwavering belief in him, in their team.

She had strongly advised him against killing Slade Wilson a few months back. When everyone advocated for Oliver to become a ruthless killer again, Felicity had made her stand for a different way. She had to believe another path existed for them, for Oliver, without having to carry the guilt and heavy weight killing put on his shoulders.

Still then, when everything they worked for- the safety of their city, its citizens and everyone they loved – was put at risk, she pleaded with him to keep on track, to find another way. Even Detective Lance wanted to see the persona he had fought against, the vigilante who would take no prisoner and leave a trail of bodies in his wake. For his daughter, he had urged Oliver to find the killer within himself and let him loose on those who tried to harm his baby girl.

Felicity was still bitter that he had put such a weight on Oliver's shoulders, that he had been so quick to change his mind about the morality of someone he had wanted to arrest, once upon a time, when his daughter had been in danger. It was so easy for him to demand blood, he wasn't the one whose soul had to pay the price, she knew Oliver let each death rest heavily on his mind and she couldn't accept that he had to endure that again. Besides, she had told him before that the Slade fiasco in Starling wasn't due to his lack of killing, quite the contrary, Oliver had put an arrow through him eye with every intent on killing him.

Despite all odds, they had made it through that crisis, had weathered it with a good plan and a little bit of luck, never mind that her heart had to be broken that night, they won. Slade Wilson was defeated, locked away to rot for the rest of his days on his favorite purgatory, and they went home. Oliver gave her a bullshit 'good job, go team' talk and time passed.

Then, they discovered he had a daughter, and Felicity soldiered on. She gave him support, went with him sans Dig, to retrieve her in a corporate Argus jet, courtesy of Lyla and even let him move in with her temporarily. She had suggested he use her guest room before they learned about Emma. After that, Oliver asked her to let him stay a little while with his child, partly because she took a liking to Felicity and besides, the Queen manor had been repossessed. It wasn't sold yet, a favor from a district attorney who used to be friends with Walter, but he couldn't live in it until the lawsuit he had filed to contest Isabel Rochev's QC ownership, and the paper work his mother had her lawyers draw up for him and Thea to sign, before she died, came through.

So, she let him move in. Half of her brain told her she was a crazy person, living with him would most definitely not help her little condition, it would be unsettling for his kid and she did not want to cause the poor darling more hurt with their grown up problems. Despite her many reservations, she agreed to share her apartment with the father-daughter duo, giving her guest room to the little girl while her father took up residence on her couch.

And at first, it went fine. Oliver and his kid were trying to get to know each other while she joined and cared for his daughter, making her laugh, snuggling on the couch with her in front of a good Disney movie when Oliver had to patrol the streets of Starling City to chase down some bad guys. It was fine, she didn't mind spending her time with Emma, she was a sweetheart and the little girl was so curious about everything that she saw, heard or noticed that Felicity could even say that she loved spending her time with her. Up until she realized she spent more time with her than Oliver.

On week two, she had the epiphany and she spent week three taking note of any interaction the new father would have with his kid, checking for some signs of anxiety, trying to decrypt every gesture he made. Although on week 4, she was certain her assumption was right, of course the man acted covertly and she had to give it to him, she might have missed it, if she didn't spend half her time in his company, scrutinizing every move he made ever since his fake 'I love you' in the Queen mansion.

Felicity was swirling her wine into the glass, absentmindedly watching the clock adorning her kitchen walls, looking around as time passed. Though there was only one thing weighing on her mind as she observed the hands of the watch strike two am. Oliver was avoiding her, and while she felt hurt and regretted it, she could understand that he did not want to spend more time with her.

What was unacceptable, however, was his avoidance of his own daughter. Felicity had mulled her feelings over, thinking that perhaps she made a fuss out of something that was nothing more than coincidence, but by week four she knew better.

Oliver was suddenly more busy than he had ever been, chasing crime at every hour of the night and day, always rebuffing her proposals for dinner or play time afterward with his daughter. He was smart about it, trying to spare his kid some pain, and was not too obvious in his absence, yet she knew. She watched him connect with Emma for two minutes here and there, he did the minimum to fly under the radar, read the little girl a story once a week and tried to eat with them at least once daily. It was not enough, Felicity watched him warily and was certain her damaged man held back.

For whatever reasons, he felt it was OK to leave his kid almost entirely in her care. She didn't mind, Emma was a sweetheart, but she needed her father. The tech genius had to watch the little girl's disappointed face every time her father denied her affection or rejected her effort to connect with him and deal with it afterward, bribing her with a dance contest in the room here, a movie there and a lot of affection in between.

Felicity wasn't even sure that Oliver even knew what he was doing to his daughter, she didn't want to think that he hurt the cute little blonde willingly, she did not peg him as a cruel man, he never had been before and had no reasons to start with his own flesh and blood. If she had to bet, she'd wager that he was scared, frightened to do something that would hurt the child, perhaps even refraining in their interaction to spare her some pain if something were to happen to him.

It was much the same with her, she mused, he had lain his cards on the table after their awful trip to Russia. He wouldn't let himself be with someone he could really care about, or so he had told her back then, and while Felicity thought it was bullshit, the twisted reasoning seemed sound to Oliver. No attachment, no connection meant no pain for those he loved, in case something happened to him.

Besides, she knew he had this deep seated fear that those he cared about would be used against him, the deadliest weapon leveraged against him by the enemies plotting his downfall. That line of thought seemed sound to Oliver, though Felicity knew with her own experience that it hurt. Deeply. She had been in an endless loop of confusion, anger along with love ever since that night, when they overcome Slade Wilson's special brand of crazy.

And Felicity would be damned if she let him hurt his innocent daughter, the poor little sweetheart had already suffered enough when she lost her mother, no need to add Oliver's own warped perceptions of life, death and love to that. She took a sip of wine when she heard the door to her apartment open and close softly, no doubt her favorite islander thought he could just sneak in quietly. Not tonight, not on her watch. Felicity waited silently in the dim lighted kitchen, ready to ambush the unsuspecting hero.

They would have this conversation, even if she had to lock him in her room she thought, cringing immediately at the undertone of her thoughts. Whilst Oliver sneaked in silently, Felicity steeled herself, preparing for the battle to come, refilling her glass to the brim. Liquid courage or not, Oliver Queen was about to face off one angry, blonde tech genius. On her own turf.


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers :**

The Puppeteer - Ah ah, I loved the idea of kids archery and I might have some plans for Roy babysitting, but I'm not telling yet :) As for the school, you'll find out soon, promise.

annependragon - She might...One thing is for certain though, she's not a doormat kind of girl and she's not gonna let him get away with it.

Guest - To be honest, I was a bit like that too, but then I couldn't avoid writing it. I don't know why, it just wouldn't go away :P I'm glad you like it, I think so too, it's his own warped sense of duty and his need to protect those he loves, in continuity with his previous behavior. Though the Arrow writers could surprise us and take him to a whole other direction...

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 6 -**

"Well, well, well...Be still my heart." Felicity saucily blurted out at the man approaching in silence, rounding the corner to the kitchen island, startling him. "If that isn't Mr Queen, Starling's very own former billionaire golden boy, sneaking into my kitchen in the middle of the night."

"Felicity?" He turned towards her, obviously surprised to see her still awake, despite the dim lighting that should have alerted him to her presence, a testament to just how much his mind was preoccupied these days. "What are you doing up?"

"I can do whatever I want, Oliver. In case you've forgotten, this is my apartment. If I want to dance naked in the middle of the room, I'll damn well do as I please," she answered callously. She felt the alcohol warm her body, swaying a bit on her feet as she got up.

"O-Kay?" He watched her closely, trying to test the waters before he took another step in the kitchen, unsure as to what earned him such a tone from his usually easy going partner. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? He asks what's going on!" Felicity exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she waved her arms around, spilling some wine on the otherwise immaculate white tiled floor. "I'll tell you what's going on, Oliver," she added, her tone escalating into the highest pitch she could produce, "do you know what I did tonight? Of course you don't, because you weren't there, now, were you?"

At his confused look and half shrug, she slitted her eyes to him, cutting any reply he might have uttered off as soon as he opened his mouth. "Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question. Do you even know what that is? Probably not, I'm sure you were too busy sleeping with every woman in a ten miles radius in high school to know that, and I don't even want to think about your man whoring ways in college, so I'll enlighten you." Felicity patronized him, glowering at the remorseful man who faced her, his features tightly pulled into a frown, his eyes clouding with shame and guilt."It doesn't call for an answer, it's an emphasis," she lectured testily. "And if you're interested, the point is that you weren't there. Where were you? Don't answer that either, I'm pretty sure you're going to tell me you were keeping the city safe, chasing after whoever struck your fancy that night. I'll tell you what I did tonight, Oliver. I tucked a little girl to sleep, you remember her? Your baby, Oliver. Do you know what she asked me tonight? Before I left, she wanted me to tell her how to be good, better for you, to make you want to stay-"

"Felicity...Enough," Oliver pleaded with his furious blonde, "I wasn't...I'm-"

"Don't, Oliver, I don't want to hear it. No more excuses. She looked so sad tonight, do you think a dinner here and there is enough? You're her father, Oliver, her father," she cut him off, sipping her wine as she tried to calm herself.

"I know that-"

"Do you?" She demanded, scrutinizing his face like a hawk, watching his face fall and his tormented eyes lift to her own, pleading with her to stop her cruel verbal lashing. "She needs you, Oliver, not part time, she needs her daddy more than Starling needs the Arrow. I know what we do is important, no need to remind me, you can find a middle ground between the two, Oliver, but you can't fuck this up-"

"I know all that," he said louder, "I'm trying-"

"Try harder." She snapped to the defeated man.

Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest, she knew she was hurting him but he had to hear it. She was determined to give him a much needed wake up call- she had to, as his partner, for better or worse. If he ended up resenting her, so be it. Still, she wouldn't back down. That little girl sleeping the night away in her guest room deserved better. And Felicity knew if he only put his heart to it, if he stopped guarding it and abandoned his twisted logic, he could be a wonderful father. She wouldn't stand by and watch him do to his daughter what her own father had done to her. She couldn't, wouldn't allow him to choose the same path.

Weeks ago, when he had expressed his doubts, they already had this conversation and he had taken the only decision he could have, to bring the little girl back with them to Starling City. Felicity could not let him fail his own daughter, no matter what. She was determined to see this through, and would not be appeased with a half-assed commitment. He was going to be there for Emma, even if she had to chain him to her couch while donning his own vigilante costume.

"I..." he sighed painfully, looking ashamed and avoiding her piercing glance as she came closer to him. "I don' know how...I just... I don't know how to be what she needs."

"Oh, Oliver..." She put her hand on his arm, squeezing his bicep as she put her other hand against his cheek. He nuzzled her palm as her left arm circled around his shoulder to hug him.

"You don't need to know anything, Oliver, you don't have to do anything. Just be there. You've been avoiding us. Now I don't care if you want to stay away from me, if I'm crowding you, just say so. I can sleep a night or two with Dig and Lyla, I'm sure they wouldn't mind-"

"No, Felicity, don't...I'm not avoiding you," he trailed off squeezing her harder against him while her hand slipped into his hair.

"Don't lie to me, Oliver, it's not your strongest suit. You have been avoiding me. But it's OK...Well not really but you know, we'll deal with it, just don't do it to Em, she deserves better." She sighed softly, feeling him nod against her neck.

"I know," he muttered, "I need you, Felicity. I don't know how to do this...Hell, I wouldn't have made it so far without you. I know that, I just- fuck..."

"What, Oliver?" Felicity looked up to watch his inner struggle reflected in his face.

"I just don't want her to get too attached to me...What if something happens to me? She's been through enough shit already."

"We've already talked about this...You can't protect us from everything," she reaffirmed steadily. "For all you know you could die tomorrow-"

"That's exactly my point," he interrupted, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"I meant in a stupid, freak accident, Oliver. None of us know how much time we have. There is no guarantee in life, no refund either, we just have to make the best of it. Don't you think she'd be devastated if you died in a car accident tomorrow? Shit happens, Oliver. You're not God, you can't control everything, no matter how much you might want to."

He laughed softly, shaking against her as he heaved a sigh of relief. She was a balm for his soul, always had, always will, it seemed. He had regretted tremendously those words he had said to her, months ago, on the shores of Lian Yu. He wanted to take them back and tell her he loved her, truly, not as a ploy to beat his foe, but because he did, had, for a while now. It was all he could think of whenever they had a moment together, she made his pulse race and his heart would beat erratically for the quirky blonde he had come to value.

How could he not? She had wormed her way into his damaged heart, one babble at a time. With her not so short skirts, her tech skills, that candid heart, her unwavering strength and belief...Simply put, he had no one like her in his life. She knew almost every side of him yet, to his utter astonishment, she loved him in spite of them. She was unique, lovely and truly remarkable in every way- but mostly, he had come to realize that she was the right woman for him, his Felicity.

Too bad he couldn't act on it. That would be reckless, endangering the delicate balance they had found in their partnership the moment he would fuck up. And he would, that was a given. What then? No, it wasn't a risk he was willing to take. That was his cross to bear, to have her in his life without taking that ultimate step, the one that would force their whole dynamic to shift. No one could predict the outcome of that crucible, but Oliver would do his best to keep a tight lid on his feelings. He took a deep breath, smelling hints of her light perfume in her hair as he put his feelings for the babbling blonde in a neat little box he buried deep inside his mind, never to be spoken of again. He had endured five years of purgatory, surely he had suffered and learned enough by now to know how to keep his emotions in check. But then again, even Slade Wilson, and all the Mirakuru coursing through his veins, had been no match for his Felicity.


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewer, .9, welcome on board ;) here you go .**

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 7 -**

"Do you think Ollie will eat with us?"

"I don't know, Em. I think he'll try to make it. Why? Are you getting sick of me, already?" Felicity asked the thoughtful child seated on a stool before the kitchen island.

"Nah," she sighed, laying atop her crossed arms.

Felicity checked her watch discreetly, worried that Oliver would stood them up. Hopefully, their last conversation had not been in vain and he'd be present at dinner tonight. That would be a start, she wouldn't complain that he would probably just waltz in here, no matter that she felt like the perfect little homemaker these days, someone had to step up to the plate. She did her Arrow stuff whenever his daughter was occupied and they were still trying to figure out how to get QC back so it wasn't like her schedule was full or anything.

Still, she had told him that things had to change. Not to free her time, but because Oliver needed to start somewhere. Being a dad wasn't only about reading a bed time story, it was providing for her as well as knowing what she would need, scheduling things and handling her daily routine. She needed to go back to school, that was imperative, she had printed info on several private schools that looked good, knowing Oliver would appreciate the sentiment. Like it or not, she was a Queen, and the Arrow's child, she needed all the protection she could get- though with a bit of luck the latter would remain confidential.

Felicity grinned as the cute girl pouted her little heart out, closing her eyes. She turned down the sauce she was cooking, letting it simmer and approached quietly, taking advantage of her distraction.

"Stop it, ahhhh, 'Licity-" Emma giggled when the older blonde tickled her sides, wriggling on her stool.

"It's not me, sweetie, it's the tickle monster," Felicity teased innocently, laughing with the squirming child.

Oliver watched both of his girls, standing undetected in the doorway as they teased each other. They looked happy, enjoying each other's company as they cooked dinner. He could not reconcile the horrible scenarios his mind could make up with the domestic scene he had stumbled upon.

Ever since Lian Yu, Oliver Queen had morphed into something different, someone who could do things on both end of the spectrum, capable of the best and worst alike. He had done many atrocious deeds in the five years he had been exiled from civilization, things that would always on his conscience, yet Felicity was still there. Despite her extended knowledge of his trials, she hadn't run in the opposite way, quite the contrary, she was constantly pushing him to do his very best, to be a hero rather than a vigilante.

Perhaps it was her way of evening the score on his behalf and balance his karma scales favorably.

She had given him an out and a new path, challenging him to be a better man along the way. Some days he thought she didn't understand just how much she mattered. To him. And not just as his tech genius, nor in a platonic way either. In many regards, she was his last rampart against the world and unfortunately much too often against his own damn self as well. He was his own worst enemy, they all knew it. In dire situations, he tended to doubt himself, question every one of his moves over and over again, up to the moment when his blonde genius would pull him out of his self created hell.

He had expected her to confront him post Slade and the fiasco in his family mansion, but it had not even earned him one of her furious babbles in the spur of the moment. He had spent a whole damn week and a half, jumpy as a guilty kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, waiting for her to pounce on him and demand answers. Yet nothing came. Nothing, not even a misplaced, awkward rant nor an angry glare, not a goddamn peep out of his usually very talkative girl Wednesday- or Friday, he could never quite remember that one.

Then, they learned about the daughter he never knew existed, and his world turned on its axis once more. He was livid and upset at his mother, who wasn't there to answer his questions, face his fury or justify the choices she had made on his behalf, without his knowledge much less his consent. After that, he spent hours running on an endless loop relieving her death, blaming his shortcomings for her demise, because he should have seen it coming. He had fought with Slade, the man who had helped him survive on the hellish island, he had spent enough time with the Australian to know better, yet he could not foresee what happened. It was a bitter revelation coupled with another strain on his fragile soul, that he could not prevent his mom's slaughter nor the choice the one-eyed Australian would propose to him. His failure of today a cruel mirror of the shortcomings of his past, plotted by his former friend's deluded mind with only one goal, to put him through the same agony Slade had endured and for which he held Oliver fully responsible for.

And finally, he was angry with Emma's mom, for not bothering to inform him that he had a daughter, and taking his mother's hush hush money instead of doing the right thing. Usually by that point, his self-esteem would take another blow when his own damn mind would point out his past failures. How could he blame a scared, young woman with no resources to compete with the Queen wealth, when she chose what she probably believed to be in their child's best interest? Especially over a golden boy who spent more time getting drunk than studying, while he fucked half the population over the age of consent in Starling City. Really, who could blame her? He was an asshole back then, a promiscuous little shit who thought he owned the world.

Nevertheless, he was hurt. She had deemed him an unfit parent right from the start, when she had told him about her so-called abortion. And he couldn't help but ponder, five years later, whether his circumstances had gotten worse or better. He wasn't sure what would have happened back then, hell he probably would have told her that he wanted a DNA test or something, accuse her of being a gold digger probably given his record with women, and true, he had embarked more than willingly with Sara on his father's boat but still, it gnawed at him, the weight of the what ifs running through his head.

He had argued for hours with Felicity about his child and whether he could really provide a good life with her, given his lifestyle, and he saw the disappointment in her eyes when he mentioned giving up his daughter. He wasn't a MIT graduate, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was drawing a parallel to her own childhood. He saw the flash of betrayal in her eyes as he considered what to do next. He would never lie to her. Omit? Sure, but never an outright lie, for fear of losing her trust, which he had learned he needed desperately these days. Strange, how something you've done without for so long can suddenly become a crucial part of your world. Things he had long ago crossed off the realm of possibility for him- friends, allies, even love- were unexpectedly thrown back in his path. He had lost sight of his feelings along the way in Lian Yu and was trying to learn them back, which wasn't easy, but he was making an effort to open to them.

Add a long lost daughter into the mix, and he was drowning again, unable to breathe until Felicity appealed to him. She made him consider a whole other side of things with her basic logic, telling him that accidents happened- which was true- and reassuring him with sound arguments about his ability as a parent. The seed had been planted, and with Thea gone off to God knew where, he wanted to do the right thing. To try, at least, and be a father. To do better than his own had been, and not perpetuate the same fucking pattern over and over again. He knew his little blonde spitfire was glad that he didn't take the easy way, that he wouldn't be an absentee father as her own had been, but she wouldn't be pacified that easily. She had cornered him after an entire month of biding her time, demanding more time and less excuses.

Oliver had to give it to her, she was persistent. Albeit slightly drunk, but she didn't let him off the hook and pushed him until he caved. Admit that he had been avoiding home- well, Felicity's home, a temporary fixture to Oliver and his daughter's living arrangement. She had graciously allowed them into her home and took his child under her wing, something he would be forever grateful for. Once again, she had stepped up in his stead, even though she wouldn't allow him to settle for that; and their heated argument just the night before had only served to confirm what he already knew. There she stood, tipsy and furious as hell, beautiful with her cheeks tinged with red, her heavy glare daring him to contradict her. He was done for, left to admit, ask for help, and swear he would try to do better. For Emma's sake, though it was in both their interest. He would never admit it to anyone, but he needed that month, the distance and slow adaptation to his new found kid in order to be ready to accept it, let bygones be bygones and finally try to be a father.

As he watched them giggle, he paid close attention to the older blonde tickling his child as she cooked, his partner, the woman who had become such a vital part of his life on and off the field. He hadn't lied to her, back in his mansion when they had tried to get Slade's attention. The plan had been set, Felicity was ready to be brave and outsmart the deluded man, all he had to do was speak the words his foe was waiting for. Months later he still wasn't sure why he had deviated from their script, he blamed the spur of the moment and his traitorous mind, not to say anything about the fear that had gripped him when they first came up with their cunning plan. Maybe it was all of those things combined together, maybe his mouth just couldn't shut up. No matter what it was, bottom line was that he had said it. And he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Nowadays, his brain projected one image and one only before his eyes, Felicity. The only difference with the days post what he dubbed the Queen mansion Gate in his head? Now his daughter was featured just as prominently in his fantasies, and the scenes he envisioned weren't much different from what he saw tonight. Domestic vignettes of a life divided in two sides. Two persons, two sides of his life- one in the public spotlight, the other fighting crime in Starling City's gutter, to help heal the wounds his parents had started inflicting. Righting their wrong and clearing the Queen name seemed all the more important now that he had Emma. He wouldn't let her grow up with the stigma that was now associated with his family name. His mind was projecting all sorts of alternative scenarios in his mind, in a permanent battle with his will to keep the two blondes out of his heart, protecting them by keeping them at arms' length. Though with each day that passed, it was getting harder to remember why it was such a good idea. Unreasonable and crazy as it seemed to him, he was coming to terms with the fact that he wanted it all, daughter and blonde genius included.


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers:**

** .9** - Glad you're still enjoying this :)

**annependragon** - Thanks, I do have a slight weakness for those ;)

**Zvi** - Thank you, hopefully you'll continue to like it...I think so too, but I guess he's emotionally stunted and really, who could blame him? The poor guy had his life turned upside down and he's been through so much, I'm inclined to forgive his lapse of judgement provided someone's here to knock some sense into him. ( Boy did I love it when Diggle and Felicity knocked him out before he could offer himself as a sacrifice :D ). He does make some awful decisions, but it comes from a good place, though to paraphrase Madonna ( I think? ), the road to hell is paved with good intentions ;)I can't wait to see how they deal with it either...I'm going through serious Arrow withdrawal :) Regarding Laurel, don't be too hard on her either, she's had her fair share of hardship as well. I guess what bothers me more with her, lies in the fact that she's Oliver's past. Of course, now she knows about his vigilante activities, but should they rekindle their romance (let us hope not :P ), one can only wonder how healthy it could be, given their past...Definitely not the kind of relationship you'd want for your daughter, and I don't know, I feel like they're so far past canon comics that it's unnecessary...Besides, two words : Felicity Smoak ;)

**lateVMlover** - I think so too, our girl has spunk :) Thank you so much, I hope you'll continue to like it.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 8 -**

"It's not up for discussion, Oliver"

"Like hell it isn't," he grunted, his frustration evident in the lines of his face, glaring at Felicity in the middle of their new foundry.

"Look, I appreciate your concern but I'm a big girl. My life, my choice, remember?"

"Absolutely not, Felicity. You're not doing it," he retorted angrily.

"I am, it's our best plan-"

"Putting yourself into danger again, that's our best option? We could do it like the Merlyn job, in and out, right Dig? Back me up, man-"

"Oh no, you don't, Oliver. This is Shrapnel all over again. I'm not getting in the middle of you two, but from a strategic point of view, she's not wrong," his honorary black driver replied as he glanced between the other two fuming members of their team.

"What? Come on Diggle, she has no business going there alone."

"Yeah well...Got another idea?"

"I'm working on it, but she isn't going anywhere," Oliver stated firmly.

"SHE is right here," Felicity huffed indignantly. "It's the best plan, why can't you see that? I'll get the job, then we'll get access to the facility and I'll do my thing. Think, Oliver. This drug is too dangerous, it's gonna turn people into human bombs," she shuddered, grimaced, then straightened her spine, looking back at her favorite vigilante. "We need to do something, Oliver, he's like the love child Shrapnel and Count Vertigo would have loved to produce...God...My brain really thinks of the worst possible images."

This time Oliver couldn't resist cracking a smile while Diggle laughed at their favorite, awkward, blonde genius.

"Besides, Oliver, Cisco called me back, and it's not good. They're not finding anything...We need to do something," she pleaded, trying to appeal to his reasonable side.

"Fine," he conceded tersely, "but you'll keep your comm link open every second that you're in there-"

"What if I have to pee?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I heard that," he told her, not impressed by her counter argument.

"Ew...TMI, Oliver, no matter how you meant that." Felicity cried out. "And please, no need to explain. Just don't," she added, shaking her head looking slightly disgusted- perhaps at the strange ideas her brain would come up with based on one comment

"Yeah, I'll have to side with our girl on that one," Diggle deadpanned while Oliver grunted, obviously irritated by the turn of events, and not that amused at their banter.

"You two need to focus. If he is using his company to produce this drug, it won't be that easy to prove. That is, if you even get access. We still need solid proof to expose him. Kord Industries has a pristine reputation and Ted Kord is too well connected, we'll need to thread carefully. That means you, Felicity."

"Trust me, I will get it. When have I ever failed to get into something...Not into _into_...Gah...I don't know why I always do that...1...2...3..." Felicity rolled her eyes and whined, fidgeting in front of her boys for half a minute before taking a deep breath. "What I meant was don't worry, I'll be fine, Oliver." She smiled to her disgruntled partner, decked in his usual hero, leather outfit, getting a solemn nod back from the man.

"Alright. Make the call, get that job interview and if you do, it's a go. We'll need to go over the blueprints with you later, Felicity. As soon as possible, to try to familiarize you with the layout of the offices."

"Can it wait until tonight? You could bring them home and we could do it once Em is asleep?"

"Sure. Speaking of Emma, I need to go see my lawyer when we finish here, can you go pick her up? I won't be long, but he left me a message earlier, it's important," he explained as Diggle looked at them, pleasantly occupied by their interaction.

"QC business?" He checked with Oliver.

"Yeah, apparently. He wouldn't say more on the phone."

Felicity agreed to pick up his daughter, much to Oliver's relief. Shit, he had no idea how single parents did it. He really needed to pick up a school for his kid, that would make it much easier- at least during the day. There was so much to remember, to think about- not everything was important, some things were more trivial, like picking up dinner and such, but there was also different important decisions he needed to make regarding his daughter, the first of which was school. It was all very overwhelming to the new father, and for good reasons. Aside from a turtle he'd once had as a child, he had never assumed responsibility for anything in his life, much less a child, hence why it seemed such a hefty responsibility. Though Oliver would wager parenthood never comes easy for anyone. There would be trials in their path, he would fuck it up, assuredly, but hopefully, he wouldn't screw up his daughter's life too much. One could only hope he would be able to own up to that and Oliver strongly clung to Felicity's belief in him, even when his daughter was concerned.

A week later, Felicity received a call offering her a job in Kord Industries, which she promptly accepted, agreeing to start the following morning since she was free of any contractual obligations from her previous employer, Queen Consolidated. Oliver spent that very first day on edge, perpetually checking their communication line, eager to stay with Felicity in case anything happened. Diggle had laughed outright at his demeanor, calling bullshit on Oliver's explanation, mumbling about obliviousness and blindness, something his friend refused to understand, not liking the implications Diggle had so blatantly made.

"Seriously, Oliver, you don't see it?" He asked again on the third day as they ate.

"See what?"

"Come on, we both know that you _know,_ but you're ignoring it-"

"Diggle" he warned in a stern tone, eager to skip the sensitive topic as he put his chopsticks besides his take out box.

"OK, OK," he conceded, putting his hands in front of his body, trying to appease the dangerous, brooding man he shared Chinese take out with. "Though you should know, she's not gonna wait for you to realize your mistake and get your shit together, if that ever happens. Don't miss out on a great thing because of grand gestures, or whatever good you think you're doing by staying away. I know you, Oliver-"

"She's a free agent, she can do whatever she pleases, trust me, I know." He cut off his partner, frowning at his own words. That wasn't a visual he needed, he'd rather think of his babbling blonde alone. Despite his belief that she deserved all the happiness she could get, his heart and his mind had trouble getting their acts together.

Diggle laughed, remembering the Barry Allen episode, and his friend's annoyed behavior at the Central City boy's obvious interest for the third member of their team.

"There is nothing between her and me-"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Oliver. Fine, don't do anything about it, but don't be surprised when she's snatched under your nose by some asshole just because you didn't have the guts to do anything about it. And don't give me your bullshit about protecting her, she's already in too deep to stay safe," Diggle finished, leaving room for Oliver to think about it and perhaps change his mind or at least evolve a bit. But truth be told, he wouldn't hold his breath. Oliver had proven to be much too thick headed in the past, so Diggle wouldn't get his hopes up. Lyla and him had running bets on how long it would take them to own up to their feelings- he put his money on another jealousy gate while his ex wife believed it would need something more traumatic than that to get the two of them together. Only time would tell.

Though the reformed playboy used to be a spoiled little rich kid before the island, if Diggle had to judge based on the Barry Allen fiasco, he'd say the man hadn't changed that much, on that particular point. No wonder he hadn't liked the man when Felicity's whole attention seemed focused on the bright young scientist. He still hated to share. Much less his precious blonde, no matter his stand on their relationship. It was that cliche 'can't have, don't want others to either', but Oliver never claimed to be fair. Especially when it came to Felicity.


	9. Chapter 9

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers:**

**annependragon** - Thank you for commenting... damn, you're harsh with him :) You know him, he doesn't make the best decisions and he needs time...Perhaps this one will put Oliver back in your good graces :D

**Zvi** - Ain't that the truth lol... Don't get me wrong, I'm no Laurel fan either and I definitely think she's got her own flaws. Didn't they point out that she knew about her sister's crush but tried to score with him too? But they were kids and I guess you don't make the best choices at that age. Though she tends to annoy me sometimes on the show, I don't really hate her. But that's what the writers get for toying with us I suppose ;) I liked Sara as the Black Canary too, and the actress has the martial arts and parkour background to back up her performance so she's a better choice in my mind. I have no illusion though, that vest exchange pretty much put Laurel on the BC path- I'd much rather like her to be a friend to the team and Oliver but we'll see what they come up with. Thanks for reviewing.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 9 -**

"Ollie?" His daughter called for him as he watched TV, only paying partial attention to the hockey match on his screen.

It was unusual for him, usually he would be cheering loudly in front of his screen, hollering at the referee whenever he made a bad call against his team, sometimes with a bad faith characterizing sports fans like himself. Really, he turned into a savage each time his team would try to win the title, and his blonde partner would ignore his shouts, barely batting an eye at his behavior. But tonight, she wasn't there. She had called him, to warn him that she'd be late, as the offices would be empty for the most part and she'd be able to dig deeper more easily than during the day. He had agreed after a terse conversation, he was stubborn but no match for the likes of Felicity and she seemed to always make him cave, though he had to admit that she was right, it still irked him to no end.

The comm device in his ear transmitted Felicity's every move, hence the lack of total attention he gave his beloved team as they skated towards victory, scoring another mid barn shot for which he barely smiled. He couldn't help but worry for his partner, if Ted Kord was responsible for this strange drug that turned people into human weapon, there was no telling what he would do to his babbling little genius if he caught her snooping around. For once, Dig had a date with his pregnant ex wife, they deserved the off time in their busy lives and he had his daughter to watch over, so they agreed he would stay home with Emma and drop her off with their friends in case Felicity needed to be rescued from the genius inventor or his staff.

"Coming, Em," Oliver answered as he got up to check on his daughter, glancing briefly at his watch before joining Emma in Felicity's guest room.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"I'm hungry," she said from the floor where she was playing with her little cars. Felicity had convinced him to let his daughter have both genders' toys, arguing passionately about letting the little girl choose what she wanted rather than impose the traditional dolls on her. That had been an epic argument between the two, with his partner yelling that he was a misogynistic pig at one point, when he had told her cars were for little boys- yeah, not his finest moment, but how the hell could he have known that she'd be so passionate about gender and stereotypes when it came to toys for his kid? True, in retrospect, he should have seen it coming, after all she was the same woman who had once told him that if she had accepted her fate as a younger girl, she would have been a cocktail waitress...But still, she had taken him by surprise with her argument- to be honest, he had no idea that was even an issue, but he had no other choice than agree to buy car toys for his child alongside dolls. The irony was that his daughter had yet to touch any of the dolls they had bought her, yet she seemed to have a fascination for her little cars, constantly playing with them on the floor as she made a cute 'broom, broom' every time she made them move.

"Then we're going to eat. What do you want, Em?"

"Hmm...S'dwich? With peanut butter?" She asked Oliver, thinking it over carefully as if the question was of great importance.

"Alright, kiddo, come on, let's make a mean PB sandwich." He laughed and ruffled her blonde hair as he lifted her up on his hip, crossing the hall to the kitchen in a few steps.

"Ollie?" She asked, snuggling against his neck as he sighed. That was new to him. He had tried to be more invested the past few days, spending more time with his kid and he was discovering the joys that came with parenthood. Feeling the weight of his baby girl against his chest was new to the damaged man, he wasn't used to that sweet kid smell either nor to cuddles, but he found- surprisingly – that he liked it. He really liked it so far, and while it came as a surprise it seemed to begin to heal something in him, much like Felicity had started to do.

"Yeah, Em?" He asked, dropping a kiss on the crown of her hair. Oliver put her on the kitchen island, caging her with one arm to avoid a fall as he reached to open the fridge, looking for the ingredients he needed.

"Where's 'Licity?"

"She had to work late, tonight-"

"Huh...No dinner together?" She cut him off, pouting as she realized the woman she had come to love wouldn't be joining them.

"Nah, not tonight, kiddo, sorry. Though if she were here, we would not be eating PB&J s'dwiches," he winked and teased the little girl.

"Ooh...bad..." she commented with wide eyes.

"Yeah, _bad,_" Oliver laughed again, something he did more and more everyday with both his girls, emphasizing the last word, wiggling his eyebrows for show. "Just don't tell her, alright?"

"Pinky swear," Emma told him solemnly, holding her pinky out for him. He smiled and repeated the childish promise before doing the same, watching his daughter grip his finger with her own.

"I want juice with the s'dwich. OJ, please, and ice cream after."

"I bet you do, Em, but no fuc- fudging way kid..Nah, no ice cream for you tonight little miss, I remember what happened the last time I made that mistake," he told her, flicking her cute button nose.

Though ice cream was the key to making her do almost everything, his kid was crazy about chocolate flavored ice cream, having it at night was not his daughter forte. It only seemed to make her crazy for more and strangely enough it excited her. Perhaps it was the sugar in it, Felicity had pointed out, but he secretly thought there was just an ON/OFF button on his kid that activated at random, to transform her into a hyperactive terror. Felicity had laughed her ass off- at his expanse- last time he had told her something similar, so from now on, the Queen heir would keep his theories for himself. One thing was certain though, he would not make the same mistake twice, no matter how cute and efficient were his daughter's baby blues at puppy dog eyes.

"But- but, Ollie..." she whined, pouting at him while he made their sandwiches.

"No deal, moya zvezdochka, so don't even try" Oliver told her, using what was starting to be his nickname for her, _my little star_.

He had first employed the pet name about a week ago, not even realizing he had slipped to Russian, as he was known to do from time to time. He had spent so long with the Bratva, using only the Slavic language, that it sometimes slipped out unknowingly, such as that time. Felicity had pointed it out to him later that night and he had explained the meaning to her, prompting her to try to repeat the strange words. Emma was curious as well, he could see it in her eyes, but she probably chalked it up to the strange things grown ups did or said- and she had yet to ask him what it meant.

Later that night, when it came to tucking Emma into bed, things started to get difficult for the overwhelmed young father. His child had come to expect both him and his blonde partner to put her to bed, as it had been the case for the past week and before that, the task almost always fell on Felicity's shoulders. No need to say she wasn't that impressed when she learned 'her Ollie' would be the only one at her bedside that night.

"Come one, Em, you need to sleep-"

"No, I want 'Licity," she reasserted to the fidgeting man by her side.

"I know you do, but she's not back yet," Oliver answered, gripping his hair as he hoped to appease the sulking little girl. It seemed he was shit out of luck, for his kid only rubbed her sleepy eyes with her fists, shaking her head from one side to the other on her pillow to show her disagreement.

"We could read that book you and Felicity sometimes read when I'm not here?" He asked her and she considered his offer.

"I guess, but you need to do the voices too," she answered after a short while.

"Sure, which one is it?"

"The Little Prince, the one in blue, there," Emma pointed out a book on her bedside table, which Oliver grabbed with a smile.

Trust Felicity to remember, he thought fondly. The Saint-Exupery book was one of the few he remembered his dad reading to him as a little boy. He had told her one time, last year maybe, when she had asked what book was his favorite as a child. The book was his, he had brought it back from the storage box, the day he had finally moved with Emma in her apartment but he hadn't expected her to dig it from the box he had left in her attic. There were a few items from his childhood that he had felt the need to bring back with him when he had learned about his daughter, rather than left them in the secured box, for some reasons. Perhaps the nostalgia had taken a hold of him that day, but he went with it, putting the box in Felicity's apartment, as if having a little box of his childhood things would help him be a good father. But apparently, his blonde genius had done a bit of snooping, digging up the old book with tattered pages from it. He smiled, not his fake CEO golden boy smirk, but his genuine one, thinking once again how lucky he had been when Walter put his best tech expert on his path.

"Once when I was six years old I saw a magniﬁcent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal."Oliver settled on the edge of the bed, smoothing the covers around his daughter's body as he began.

"In the book it said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion." I pondered deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle."


	10. Chapter 10

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewer, lateVMlover, thank you so much, I hope you'll like this one as well ;)**

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 10 -**

"You're good at that."

Oliver turned to the doorway, where Felicity stood, watching over them. He closed the book and put it on the bedside table, bending down to lay a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"I didn't even hear you, that's progress," he whispered teasingly, winking to the blonde before crossing down to the door, closing it softly as they walked to the living room.

"You want some wine?"

"Yeah, red?"

"Sure," he smiled, grabbing two glasses and a bottle of _Côte du Rhône_ he had been meaning to share with his wine connoisseur of a partner.

Oliver opened the red _millésime_, pouring a liberal amount of wine into their glasses. Thank God for his father's habit of tax evasion and their love for good _cépage__s_, he thought as he watched his partner swirl the liquid, smelling it with her eyes closed before she took her first sip. Shit, the experience she was having seemed almost erotic, he mused as she sighed, her eyes popping wide open to look at him.

"Oliver!" She cried out, slapping her hand to her mouth as she realized the volume of her voice could have easily woken up the sleeping little girl three doors down. Oliver winced, waiting for his child to scream, cry, or both, but it seemed they were safe for now.

"Sorry," Felicity blushed, "obviously my mom could never teach me the importance of inside voice...Do your kid a favor and insist on that particular lesson...Or don't...I mean, you can raise her however you see fit. I'm not her mother, so...I-"

"Fe-li-ci-ty," he teased, laying his hand under her chin to look her into the eyes, "it's OK. Now, don't you like the wine?"

"Of course I like the wine, Oliver, do you even know what we're drinking?" She grabbed the bottle, adjusting her glasses on her nose to read the label. "Yes, just as I thought...It's a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Oliver, that's freaking expensive," she exclaimed. "Not that I don't appreciate it. It's good, with a beautiful garnet color, and don't even get me started on the flavors...but still, I was thinking something more along the line of a 20$ bottle-"

"Just enjoy it, Felicity," he smiled softly to his babbling blonde, "you should know by now that great perks come with money and the Queen name." Oliver winked to her, laying his hand atop her own.

"Came-"

"What?" He asked, confused, before she cut him off again.

"Came. The perks. In the past...Never mind, forget I said anything, I don't know why my brain thought it would be a good idea to remind you that you won't have all those anymore." She bit her thumb, worriedly looking to the side, only flicking her glance back to him when he spoke.

"Hey, that's alright, you can't help it. Besides, you're right, I won't. Not until I get my money or my company back, preferably both." His eyes clouded with anxiety and she blamed herself for choosing that subject instead of a million others when he decided to share a good bottle of red wine with her.

"Though, just so you know," he added teasingly, "you don't have to worry about any short supply of good wine."

"What- How?" She asked him, surprised at his matter-of-fact tone, not so much at his smoothness. He was Oliver Queen after all, and if there was one thing he had down to a pat, it was charm.

"My dad loved his wine," he smiled, "he had a wine cellar in our house back in the day, but my mom had it transferred in a high secured storage facility when we disappeared on the Gambit. None of it was on the books, so they never seized it. My mom used to joke it was my father's insurance policy tax free when I was younger," he explained, progressively getting lost in a time long past.

"At least he had good taste," Felicity deadpanned.

Oliver laughed, it never failed to amaze him, but she could always make him feel better. It was the lack of filter that made her so refreshingly different, one of those things she did that he loved. He sighed, knowing they both needed to get back to business. The psychopath turning the people of Starling City into human detonators wasn't going to stop on his own, and they needed to talk about what she learned at Kord Industries. Not that Oliver wouldn't have preferred to keep their easy banter going, but the city came first. It had to, the stakes were too high not to be their priority.

"So? Anything new to report today?"

"I don't think it's Kord, Oliver."

"Why do you say that? He's the most likely suspect. He has the means-"

"But what about the motive? What would he gain from it?" Felicity asked after taking another sip of the delicious wine. She might have moaned a bit- and if the way Oliver's eyes were now bulging were to be trusted, she definitely did.

"Felicity," he warned, his eyes looking dangerously predatory as he licked his lips.

"Right, right, focus...So, Ted Kord, means, yes, but no motive-"

"That you know of," he said, cutting her off.

"True, but the man is rich, blowing people off would only bring him bad press...I don't know, I'm not seeing it. Besides, he's barely there, I've seen him step once in the tech department so far, twice maybe...What if it's not him? What are we going to do?"

"Then we search and we do it again, until we find that crazy son of a bitch," Oliver spat, clenching his fist with determination. "Do you think it could be someone else from the company?"

"Maybe? I don't know everyone yet, and all the searches I've done on their internal database have come up empty-"

"Did you cross reference them with the police?"

"Really, Oliver? Do I teach you how to knock your arrows?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at his inquiry. "Look, we'll get him," Felicity reassured, squeezing his fist with her hand until he relaxed infinitesimally under her touch. "We just need more time."

"You're right. We need a way to track him."

"I've already asked Cisco and Caitlin if they had any ideas, they will keep us posted," she interrupted her moody vigilante.

"Good, that's good," he sighed heavily.

"How was Em tonight?"Felicity tried to change the subject, as nothing could be done by dragging through what they didn't know tonight.

"OK, more or less. She asked about you, wouldn't go down to sleep until you were there," he cracked a smile at his daughter's stubborn demeanor and her fierce, almost instantaneous love for his partner.

"Until super daddy saved the day with The Little Prince?" Felicity teased him, smiling at Oliver and his easy grin, unburdened from the usual weight that rested on his shoulder when he talked about his daughter, even though he might not be aware of it, yet.

He did lighten up when they spoke about the little girl these days. Perhaps he only needed to find a light to overbalance the darkness in his life, she mused, watching him smirk at her. Yet, whilst Felicity sipped her wine, a fleeting thought kept invading her brain, telling her to enjoy these simple pleasures while she could- the easy companionship they shared, toeing a dangerous line between friends, partners and lovers, parents and heroes, trying to make it work into their already complicated dynamic.

Somehow, at that precise moment, she wouldn't have been able to muster up the grudge she held over him for months, she only saw their messed up lives seamlessly blending together when it should have been harder. The pessimistic side of her tried to warn Felicity that perhaps the worst was yet to come, but she wouldn't listen to that sinister little music, preferring to focus instead on Oliver's smiling face, hanging on for the ride of her life along his side.


	11. Chapter 11

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

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**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 11 -**

"Felicity?" Oliver asked through his comm device.

"Yes?"

"Can you check check the name Werner Zytle for any association with Kord Industries?"

"Sure boss, where did that come from? Another mysterious Glades informant? Or is it coming from the Bratva again?" Felicity teased, well aware by now that Oliver had all sorts of sources, both from the criminal world and the police force, to keep him appraised of what was going on in Starling City's underground scene.

"The latter," he answered, sighing at the massive headache he could feel coming on if they couldn't stop the dangerous drug.

Another victim had been blown up the night before, a nameless junkie nobody cared about besides the hooded archer. Felicity knew it weighed heavily on her partner's shoulders, to be the only one able to make a difference, the only one who cared, despite the lack of attention for the strange death of another addict. It had been barely mentioned on the news, and when it did make the cut this morning, it was almost pragmatic- as if the poor man had gotten exactly what he deserved.

No one deserved that, Felicity thought as a shudder passed through her body. No one deserved the delirious drug which bend one's will until nothing was left, delighting addicts all over Starling City with its mind boggling effects, leaving those poor people mysteriously weaponized against their will, to be detonated at a later date.

Detective Lance had called the Arrow first, worried at the recrudescence of seemingly suicide bombers in their city, only to find out later that they'd been injecting themselves with a drug that bore a very strong resemblance to Vertigo with the explosives as a horrid addition or side effect. Star Labs kept coming up empty as to why or how the drug could possibly turn junkies into human bombs, but Cisco had assured Felicity earlier that he and Caitlin were doing everything they could to work it out. Still, it needed to be stopped, and Team Arrow was doing everything in its power to do so.

"Felicity, you're still with me?"

"Yes, sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a minute. I'm searching through all the possible databases for a Werner Zytle, though it could be an alias...But I'm sure you already knew that," she trailed off.

"Obviously," Oliver retorted in a lighter tone, no doubt smiling at the other end of the line, "they're pretty sure it is, but you never know, it might pop up somewhere, right?" He asked, practically grasping at straws to find their latest villain.

"Of course. Shit, my supervisor's coming. Don't hang up, I just need a minute to get her off my back," Felicity whispered, watching the red head powerfully crossing the room to her cubicle.

After a five minutes chat to update the older woman on her various tasks, she returned to her own devices and left the blonde free to return to her anxious vigilante.

"Hey, I'm back," she alerted the man.

"Good. Everything OK?"

"Yeah, sure, she just wanted a status update, don't worry-"

"I always worry, Felicity," he answered his tech genius, partner extraordinaire.

"I know," she whispered thickly, "but it isn't necessary right now, there's nothing to report, no one to arrow out."

"Har, har," he snapped, "don't joke about this, Felicity, please-"

"Why not? Afraid I'm going to jinx it?" She teased, trying to alleviate the heavy turn their conversation started to take.

It worked, and got Oliver to laugh, but they sobered up pretty quickly when the results of her search popped up. There was no man going by that name in either the police or the FBI's databases, but there was one Werner Zytle working in Kord Industries' applied sciences department.

"Shit, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure...Am I the Oracle of this team or what-"

"Fe-li-ci-ty," he drawled, warning her that the time to joke wasn't now. "Can you locate him? I'm ten blocks away. We need to end this, I'm coming to you," Oliver decided, his firm tone telling his partner everything she needed to know, the man was not going to be deterred from coming to her, especially not now that he knew there was a possibility for the insane criminal to be in the same building as his beloved blonde.

"Yes, I can use the key cards to track him down if he's here. And if he's using his own, of course. But, Oliver? Maybe that can wait? There's still plenty of people here, it's not even seven yet-"

"Don't argue with me, Felicity. I'm coming, like it or not. Find me the man, I'll grab him discreetly and question him back at the foundry with Dig."

"Alright...But don't say I didn't warn you-"

"Felicity, back on task, please," he added as an afterthought. No need to get a pissed off blonde on his hands. Been there, done that. Not a pleasant memory he wanted to recall.

"OK, OK...Geez, don't go all Arrow on me, not under those circumstances...Not that I've ever imagined other circumstances- and if I did, it would have been purely platonic circumstances of course-"

"Of course," Oliver teased, barely repressing the laughter in his voice as he cut her little rant off. "Now can you tell me if he's here?"

"Yes, his key card has been used fifteen minutes ago. He's on level 3."

"Don't move, I'm almost there," he answered over the noise of his bike, probably speeding like a hooded demon through the streets. Oliver never stopped at the red light, quickly glancing to the intersection to check if he had the time to pass, evaluating that his speed would save his neck, hurrying his beast along the asphalt to get to Felicity. She was in no immediate danger, but he would not tolerate the proximity between his partner and the crazy sociopath now that he knew, he couldn't afford to put her into jeopardy. Not again, not after the Slade Wilson fiasco.

"Oh my God, Oliver, I think he's coming down to my level...What do I do?" Oliver heard Felicity's rising anxiety, right before the line went dead. Pushing his bike harder than before, he felt the dread's infectious spread through his veins, his heart beating faster as only one thing resonated in his mind; Felicity.


	12. Chapter 12

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewer, annependragon:** thanks for your comment, I'm afraid you're going to feel the same way about this one- or at least its ending :P

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 12 -**

Oliver looked around as he circled the building, still riding his bike while he was trying to come up with a plan to enter Kord Industries' offices, without attracting too much attention. Not that easy to do, when one is wearing a green leather uniform, paired with a hood, a bow and a quiver... He finally found his way in, about five minutes after he lost contact with his favorite blonde genius. Oliver left his bike in an impasse, and stealthily made his way across the streets, making sure no one saw him as he ran from the dim lighted street. Oliver infiltrated Kord Industries through a backdoor entrance, sneaking in as the security guy was having a break, flirting with another employee while they smoked outside.

Molding his body against the wall, the worried hero looked around, quickly making his way through the stairs, his heart pounding as he thought about all the possible outcomes for his partner. If that crazy bastard had her, there was no telling what would become of her. Fuck, for all he knew, she might have already been injected with that goddamn drug, or worse...But he adamantly refused to think about that last option. Though he couldn't help the flashes his brain kept sending to him- a blonde, bloodied body here, another one featuring Felicity, shot in the abdomen, staggering towards him as the blood pooled around them...It just kept coming, no matter how fast he took the stairs, or how determined he was, his mind kept going to the worst possible outcome. He knew perfectly well that he could fail her, it had happened to his mother, what was to say he wouldn't screw up this time as well, thus condemning Felicity to a certain death, his traitorous mind reminded him.

As if he needed an incentive to save her and be the hero she believed in. Oliver swore in a hushed voice, trying to get a grip on his feelings and the fright that was running rampant through his whole body. He needed to calm himself, steady his nerves and get to his partner's level ASAP. Panicking like a little boy on the verge of losing his favorite toy wasn't going to help her. She needed him. Now. The Arrow, the vigilante who wouldn't hesitate to kill if her life was threatened, for no other reason than her. He had told her, back when she had been captured by The Count, that there was no choice to make. And there wasn't. How could it be any different when her life was at stakes?

There was very little Oliver wouldn't do for Felicity, he was slowly starting to realize that. Perhaps he had always known, deep down himself, that she was too important to be sacrificed, but he'd only recently began to understand that. Had it always been there? He couldn't answer the questions that his conscience threw at him, despite his nagging suspicion, it would only serve to prove what he had been suspecting for a while now. Felicity Smoak was his light, the anchor grounding him ashore despite the tempestuous tide, the one person in his life who knew him- every sides of him, but perhaps more importantly than that, she understood him. He thought about saying the words flashing behind his eyelids out loud. Three little words he wouldn't dare speak. He shouldn't even think of those three fucking little words that were consuming him, day after day.

He stopped in front a heavy door at his blonde's department floor, breathing deeply while he gripped his bow, grabbed an arrow from his quiver, then drew back as he put his thumb straight out. Oliver walked steadily through the door, stopping against a pillar to observe his surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of his partner. The masked man failed to identify any threats, checking twice to be certain, before continuing to progress on the floor.

Oliver was feeling antsy, surprised at the lack of people mulling around the offices, though it was starting to get late. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his bones. There was a powerful instinct ingrained in him, ever since Lian Yu, and it was on high alert- as if something was about to happen. Constantly aware of his surroundings, he checked his phone to see a red dot moving on his map, prompting him to turn left, as he followed it to put himself back on track, barely a few meters away from his blonde.

He sent a brief prayer to the Gods of Technology, thanking their superior wisdom for inventing GPS trackers, grateful that he had the foresight to put one of those little marvels into a charms bracelet Dig and himself had given to their partner on her birthday. Had they told her what was hidden into the custom jewelry, she'd probably have been furious at them, ranting on and on about her strength, probably telling them they were demeaning her status on their team or something like that, finishing with a slip of her tongue about their muscles or the salmon ladder, Oliver mused with a smile.

Not letting himself get distracted with the inner monologue he was starting to have in his head, he went back on task, following Felicity as he prepared himself to face a monster. He blamed her entirely for that, or rather the time they were spending together, she was starting to rub off on him- even Diggle had noticed, only too happy to point it out to Oliver, with a smirk on his smug face. The expecting father loved to tease him, taunting him to no end during the Barry Allen debacle, trying to get a rise out of Oliver, with his comments and his knowing smiles. Besides, ever since he had learned about Lyla's pregnancy, his friend had been walking on clouds, ecstatic to finally have a child, in a very contrasting display to Oliver's own reaction to the life changing news.

But then again, Dig was having a baby with his ex wife, a woman he had loved for many years, even if their relationship had known its fair share of low moments, still, he would have more than seven months to be ready. Unlike Oliver, he wouldn't have to wake up one morning, the same man he had ever been, only to go to sleep as a new father. The speed at which his life had been changed was radical, it wasn't something he could have ever prepared for. He had naively, perhaps, believed his mother- when she had assured him she would support him, no matter what choices he would make- and the woman he'd been fucking back then, Emma's mother, who had told him she had a miscarriage.

Back then, Oliver Queen had rejoiced as the heavy burden looming over his shoulders had been lifted. If only he had known then, what he knew now...The pretty boy of his youth couldn't have foreseen what he would become years later. It was too far out of the realm of his imagination- well, save maybe for the brief stint as QC's CEO. That, he could have surmised even back then, what with his parents pressuring him to give up his life of leisure and finally take on his role in their legacy, Oliver thought as he finally saw a flash of blonde hair across the room. His blood went cold as he watched her from afar, in a role they were starting to get much too familiar with, to Oliver's liking, standing before a man, with her hands bound and tears streaking across her face as she begged him to spare her life.


	13. Chapter 13

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

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**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 13 -**

"Stop crying, Miss Smoak, you're grating on my nerves." The man spoke in a clipped tone as he sneered at the trembling blonde before him.

"I'm sorry," Felicity whispered with a quivering voice. "Wha- What do you want?" She asked, trying to regain her composure before the sociopath snapped.

"Haven't you figured it out by now, Miss Smoak? And here I had you pegged as the genius," he taunted, his voice rising to a maniacal pitch, circling her as a predator would his next meal, preying on the fear he could practically feel, radiating out from her.

"I- I...Um...Sorry?" She hesitated, unsure as to which words would appease his anger, eager to avoid any unnecessary escalation to her already much too precarious position.

"Please," he snapped harshly, "spare me the platitudes. We both know you aren't. But don't worry, Miss Smoak," the man mocked in a false display of kindness, "you'll get the chance to be useful."

"I will?" Felicity asked timidly, attempting to buy some time as she played into the man's delusion.

She was throwing cautious glances to the door, desperate to see her favorite bow wielding man and absolutely ready to throw away any concept she might have had of feminism, to play damsel in distress and be rescued by her hero. In fact, right about now would have been the perfect timing for the frightened blonde, as her assailant kept getting closer. Creeping towards her would have been a better description, for the man slithered dangerously closer by the minute, she could feel his breathing on her face as he spat a few more venomous sentences.

It was always the same with villains, no matter which one, there always was some kind of sob story in there, perhaps a dead wife- or was it the children this time?- when it wasn't bankruptcy or corrupt governments, corporations...No matter which sad and tragic journey in life those people had been forced to endure, it irremediably lead to vengeance. Which, of course, often made casualties, that they would blame on whatever struck their fancy, and so forth. Felicity knew that particular story only too well. Unfortunately, it frequently put her in harm's way, as a leverage against Oliver more often than not- which she hated. What was that about, seriously? Get wronged, seek revenge and capture the blonde to make the hero pay?! She would have liked to give a piece of her mind to whoever wrote the villains handbook. Bottom line? It needed the update of the century, A-freaking-SAP.

Felicity had been hoping that Oliver would have had the presence of mind to track her through the building by now. Not that she was complaining about the speed or efficiency of his rescue, really, he was her best shot anyway, and she had the utmost respect and belief in his abilities. Still, it irked her to no end to know that she was wearing the tracker for nothing. Oh sure, they thought they were sneaky, giving her the custom made bracelet for her anniversary, insisting one too many times that she wear it every single day- for no other reason than 'it was pretty'...Those two were in desperate need of better lies, for Google's sake, she wasn't born blonde, nor had she lost her common sense.

She was a bit disappointed in her boys for that one- first thinking that they had clearly overestimated the power of their lies once again, then, that perhaps they underestimated her, again. But in the end, it was a memory, the look on Oliver's face when they had faced Slade Wilson together, that had convinced her. If a GPS tracker in a charm bracelet was going to give them some peace of mind, then she would abide by that slight fashion inconvenience and let it slide. For him. To not become someone he would ever regret letting in.

"Am I boring you, Miss Smoak?"

"No, no- err...Absolutely not-"

"Enough," he screamed coldly, "where is your vigilante friend, um? I wonder," he continued, taunting her as the minutes passed, yet there was still no sign of Oliver. "Maybe I was wrong and you're insignificant?"

"I-I..." She swallowed painstakingly, struggling to find the right words. "What do you want with him?"

"Is that a confession I'm hearing? Why yes, it certainly sounds like someone is finally owning up to her famous associates-"

"You never asked," she cut him off, "and before you say something, I know, I didn't clarify. Not that you'd need it, you obviously know that we are connected...But then again, every person who's seen the news know that I've been questioned by the police, so...What I mean, and please, don't take it personally- or the wrong way- but you're not the first one to try this," she added, regaining her fighting spirit to her own surprise.

"Yes, I understand I'm not the first to try. But see, Miss Smoak, the difference between the others and me, is that I came prepared," the man smirked like a lunatic, "and when he does show up? He's going to die."

"Why?" Felicity asked, though she knew the answer to her question.

They were fighting a war, the Arrow versus Starling City's monsters, villains, criminals or whatever they called themselves these days. Since the beginning of time, there were two sides. One good, one evil. The epitome of mankind, warring against itself, against their duality. Sometimes there were gray areas and other times, the forces at play seemed contained, but it all boiled down to that great fight, since the dawn of time. It was unfortunate that Felicity would be right in the middle of it, waiting for her hero to come rescue her, but he would come. She knew that much, with a certainty that dimmed the rising fright she felt coiling in the pit of her stomach. Any moment now, Oliver would barge in, decked out in his green leather uniform, he would draw his bow and save her life once more.


	14. Chapter 14

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewer, skimmy77, **thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully you'll like this one just as much ;)

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 14 -**

Oliver was fuming, biding his time while he stared at his partner trying to reason with a mad man. He watched everything, heard each little tremor in her voice, he saw her shudder while the man continued to rant, progressively coming closer until there was practically no space left between them.

He was trying to calm the rage threatening to consume him when the crash happened. One minute he was behind a door, attempting to assess his best move, and the next, a ceiling panel fell down besides the two protagonists he was watching from afar. He had to pinch himself when he saw a blue costumed man jumping from the ceiling in front of his partner.

Wait. Back the fuck up.

What the hell was that?

Just who did that fucking asshole think he was, in that ridiculous outfit, crashing from the ceiling as he interfered with his rescue mission, thus with Felicity's safety?

Oliver stopped thinking, annoyed at the blue atrocity ruining his plans with his loud entrance, and ran towards the action. He would hate to admit it, hell, even thinking it pissed him off, but he was thankful for the distraction that raving lunatic had just provided him with. Oliver used it to his advantage, quickly snatching his blonde genius to get her to safety, while said lunatic was fighting her kidnapper.

"Oliver? What was that?" Felicity asked him, breathless after running for cover.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but it's a who-"

"Did you see that blue costume?" She cut him off, he wide eyes questioning him. "And were those antennas on his head? What the- who is he? Did you bring him?" She ranted on, watching the fight from a distance.

Oliver had to admit that those were some pretty decent moves, as far as hand to hand combat went with a crazy person, dressed in that flashy blue get up.

"Fe-li-ci-ty," he whispered, putting his hands on her shoulders, catching her baby blues with his own. "I don't know, but I need to find out," he told her as he got up, leaving her crouching on the floor. "Stay here, call Dig and tell him to get his ass back here with the SUV, alright?"

"I need your phone, but yes, I'll call him," she extended her hand as he put his own under his jacket.

"Here," Oliver put the green device in her hand- not his damn idea, she had been dead set on matching their phones to his color.

"Don't move. And be careful," he added in a stern tone, before getting back to the fight.

He observed their lethal dance as he crossed the room, seemingly undetected by the weird blue person and the son of a bitch his team had been desperate to catch. There was no fucking way he was letting the blue monstrosity have him. Not that he'd want to sound like a spoiled child, but that was his city, his criminal, his fucking business. He didn't need that fucking clown to take care of Starling City, he had a team competent enough to get the job done, nor did he need help to save his partner. Okay, so maybe he was more angry than necessary, and a bit territorial even, but it didn't make it any less true.

He fervently denied his mind's claim, trying to suggest that it had everything to do with his blonde genius. It was perfectly normal for him to act this way. For starters, he didn't know the...Who the fuck was he anyway? A clown? A vigilante, much like himself? If so, what brought him to their city? And most importantly, what the fuck was he doing here while Felicity was in fucking danger? In fact, what did both assholes want with his partner? Oliver shook his head, grinding his teeth together at the thoughts running through his head while he watched the men exchange blows.

The fight was pretty even, but he could already tell which one would lose. It was in his stance, in the look in his eyes...in the end, Zytle was going to continue favoring his right side, and would provide an opening for the blue man. It would have kept going on for some time, however Oliver never claimed to be patient. So he reached into his quiver and drew his bow, releasing one of his special arrows, efficiently hitting both men square in the chest, one after the other in the span of mere seconds. They heard the swish of air and turned their heads towards it, right on time to see his first one strike Zytle who promptly fell over.

The second one seemed more surprising to the other man, but he didn't last more than half a minute, staggering on his feet, thanks to an arrow coated in a little concoction he had learned after Lian Yu, putting him to sleep right after Felicity's abductor. Oliver checked their pulse with a self satisfied smirk on his face, amused at his own antics, when he heard his favorite IT girl approach.

"I know what you're going to say, but I checked, twice, and you were bent over their bodies...I figured you had it under control," she explained from behind his back, "and I needed to tell you that Dig is on his way...That's the good news, but so is SCPD" she trailed off, worriedly looking at Oliver.

The newly promoted Captain Lance might have called off the anti vigilante task force, but that didn't mean they shouldn't be discreet when they were vigilante-ing the streets of Starling, she reasoned. They needed to capitalize on Oliver's new found hero rep, not piss off their allies.

"We need to move them, we're bringing them back to the foundry," Oliver told her, interrupting her internal rambling, facing her as she watched the snoring duo on the floor.

"How?" Felicity asked skeptically, looking for a solution to their problem while she considered both men's corpulence.

"You're going to help me. Zytle I can handle on my own, but I'll need your help with the...err-"

"The blue dude, I get it," she cut him off, waving off the unspoken question regarding his name.

Oliver nodded, then grabbed the criminal's arm, hauling him off the floor as Felicity looked around.

"Wait a minute," his blonde genius exclaimed, stopping him in his tracks, prompting him to grunt under the weight of her kidnapper and the strain it put on his own body.

"We could use the chair- that's...if we can take the elevator? Not to put a damper on that macho man, I can carry them thingy you've got going on...Believe, me, I'm the first one to enjoy it," she said, using her index finger to put her slipping glasses back on her nose, "but it's easier and faster-"

"Fine," he growled, throwing Zytle on the first office chair he saw.

They did the same with the costumed man, then took off, each of them pushing a chair towards the hall.

Felicity pressed the down button and they waited. Felicity took the opportunity to check his beeping phone, reading Dig's latest update via text message. She told Oliver that he was waiting for them behind Kord Industries, where he had apparently noticed the bike Oliver had stashed, earlier that evening. They heard the elevator ring when it arrived to the floor, and Oliver pushed his body in front of Felicity, drawing his bow in case SCPD was already there.

"What are you doing? It's an elevator, Oliver, not a trap," Felicity frowned at him. "Besides, Dig has my back up tablet and you know it's always monitoring their feed," she argued to her ever cautious vigilante.

"Better safe than sorry," he shrugged after checking anyways.

He'd spent five years relying on his own skills, never trusting anyone else, he wasn't about to rely blindly on technology- and most certainly not when it came to Felicity. He could take it, had endured many kinds of torture in his past, but he needed to keep her safe, no matter the cost. They entered the elevator, pushing the rolling chairs in front of the door, just in case they had company on the ground floor. And yes, Oliver did check the ceiling panels, to see how strong they were, if he had to get them out without using the door.

"You know, it's really weird when you do that," Felicity commented, noticing his behavior, "you always do, even when we were at QC, your eyes couldn't stop flickering to the ceiling. Not that it bothers me, I'm just saying...You should continue, if it makes you feel safe- better, whatever...Me? I sleep with a knife on my bedside table these days. You know, just in case...Though since you started living with me, I keep it in the drawer. It's still there, but it's a progress, it's not right on the table at least," she babbled on as Oliver watched her intently, frowning while she explained her new habit.

"When did that start?" He asked, worried that he was having a bad influence on her life. She should be able to feel safe in her own home, not sleep with a goddamn knife by her bed, for fuck's sake. And the fact that she felt better now that he lived with her, provided only a small amount of comfort to the damaged vigilante. He didn't want Felicity to lose herself, her strength, her humanity, that light she had inside because of him.

"Stop that, Oliver-" Felicity interrupted him, squeezing his arm to get his attention.

"What?"

"You know what," she retorted with a meaningful glance. "It's not your fault. I chose us- this," she told him in a stern tone, her hand trailing down to touch the fingers he used to draw his bow. "So don't do your brooding hero routine, please," she teased, waving to his face as she grinned.

"Fine," Oliver conceded, knowing perfectly well just how stubborn she could be, especially when she decided to pull him out of his self-deprecating impulses.

She would go head to toe with him any day of the week, never relenting, pushing him over and over again. Hard as it was for him to admit it, he needed her too much to resist. Still, he wanted to make sure she knew she could come to him too, with anything.

"You know you can talk to me about your day, right? If you get scared, instead of putting a knife besides your bed, you can tell me," he told her softly, trying to make her see how important she was to him without wording it. "Or you can wake me up and I'll guard your door," he teased his smiling partner. "I'm always here for you, Felicity," he whispered roughly, "it doesn't matter when, you only need to ask."

"I know," Felicity nodded, unknowingly wetting her lips while she had his rapt attention.

Oliver moved closer, his bow hitting the back of the chair where Zytle was still slumbering away. He moved his hand to frame her face and she sighed, closing her eyes for a second. The tender moment was cut short when they reached the ground floor, and Oliver drew his bow, ready to shoot as the doors opened. Thankfully, no one was there, enabling the pair to make their way through the same back entrance Oliver had used earlier, a few meters away from the elevators. He quickly disposed of the guard on duty, chocking him from behind, while Felicity took it upon herself to wheel the chairs besides the door. Oliver went outside first, still wary, anxious to get away before the whole SCPD arrived. Right on time it seemed, for Diggle was dutifully waiting for them besides the black SUV. He quickly came to help them get the men out of the offices chair and into the car, barely glancing at the men they carried.

"So, I take it the two sleeping beauties back there are who we were looking for?" He asked once they had thrown them into the truck, one on top of the other. Oliver grunted in affirmative, looking to his friend while Felicity buckled her belt in the back seat. Diggle started the car, quickly driving towards the foundry. After five minutes of silence, he glanced to Felicity through the rear view mirror, then to Oliver, and spoke.

"I have to ask, guys...What's with the blue latex costume?"


	15. Chapter 15

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 15 -**

"Unmask him"

"Wait- Are you sure? Isn't that...Should we do that? Isn't there a super hero code that forbids it? Don't get me wrong, I want answers too, but...Perhaps we should-"

"We're not going to wait, Felicity. Don't be ridiculous, there's no such thing as a hero code," he told her, walking towards the chair, "and if there is, I don't give a fuck, we're not waiting," he told her pointedly. "And may I remind you that he could have killed you?"

"But, Oliver-"

"No buts, do it, Diggle."

"Okay, if you two lovebirds are sure," he told his friends, after watching them bicker like an old married couple.

"Yes-"

"No-"

"Fe-li-ci-ty, enough," Oliver uttered each syllable in her name with his deep, authoritative, Arrow voice, frowning at his dubious blonde as he removed the mask himself, ripping it from Diggle's grasp.

"Shit," Oliver and Diggle muttered, while their usually very talkative partner was left speechless for once, barely gasping at the man they knew, laying on the surgical table.

"How? He never- I didn't...Oh my god," she started, her voice rising as she processed the strange discovery they had made.

"I suppose it makes sense," Felicity remarked after some time. The three of them were still bend over the table, watching the man they all knew as the face of Kord Industries, the golden boy and genius inventor, and incidentally Felicity's latest employer, Ted Kord.

"You're right," Diggle aggreed under Oliver's skeptical glare.

"What the hell are you two talking about? It makes no sense whatsoever," the man in question affirmed, frowning at his partners.

"Um, Oliver? A CEO, billionaire, a golden boy who moonlights as a vigilante...That doesn't sound familiar? At all?" Felicity teased, laying a hand on his arm as he grunted.

"Come on, even you have to admit that it's hilarious," she said between bouts of laughter, "the blue dude and the green one, both billionaires...Well, ex in your case, but still," she trailed off, unable to continue as she giggled.

"Don't, Diggle," Oliver snapped at his friend who was trying his damnedest not to laugh after their blonde partner's quip but was failing miserably.

"She's right, it's pretty funny," the man tried to defend himself, to Oliver's growing annoyance.

"Can we focus, please guys? Felicity, I thought you didn't find anything when you looked into him?" He demanded, turning towards his thoughtful blonde.

"I didn't, he's squeaky clean," she told him, watching as he shrugged his shoulders, desperate for answers she didn't have. "Oh come on, Oliver, how could I have known? Turns out you have more in common than you thought," she admonished her favorite vigilante.

"Your experience was always supposed to trump-"

"Children," Diggle interjected before they could have at it, "now we know, that's the important part. There's no need to point fingers. What do we do next?"

"Interrogate them," Oliver answered stiffly, glancing back to Felicity as he added, "and don't tell me no. We need answers."

"I agree," she retorted, leveling him with one of her famous, no nonsense glare, "but don't do too much damage. He could be useful," she amended when Oliver looked at her with a betrayed glint in his blue eyes."He's Ted Kord, Oliver, it's not the same as beating up a drug lord, there will be consequences-"

"Since when do we care about reputation? Or political weight for that matters?" Oliver refused to treat him as any less of a suspect, just because the man was a known face in the tabloids.

Their little crusade had started with the list his father gave him and he did not discriminate, especially not when it was based on fortune or fame. "He could have killed you, tonight," he told Felicity, clearing his throat as the feelings he had experienced came back to him and started clouding his voice. "You didn't see it, Felicity," he continued, taking a brief hold of her hand, "I was there. That panel could have killed you," he reiterated for perhaps the third time that evening.

"I know," she told him softly, "but don't do anything we might regret later on my account, Oliver." She squeezed his hand, caressing his skin with her thumb. "But I'm okay," she reassured her damaged vigilante, trying to alleviate his fears as he watched her with heavy eyes, burdened by the weight he put on his own shoulders.

"If you weren't, he'd already be dead," Oliver reaffirmed, telling her what she already knew, what she had already seen.

He would kill for her. He had, once, with the Count, and at that moment, there was no space left for doubt in her mind. Oliver would do it all over again, if he had to, if it meant she was safe. Felicity avoided his meaningful glance after that, too afraid to read more into them than she should, briefly squeezing his hand in comfort one last time before she let it go.

"He's right, Felicity, for all we know he could be a part of it," Diggle backed up his friend as he looked to their bubbly blonde, suddenly fascinated with the hem of her skirt.

Although he wished those two would see what he saw, and stop being oblivious to their own feelings. Both of them were a mess, and he could only hope they'd get their acts together before it became a problem for their team. Most of all, he wanted to see those two people he had came to care about, happy. He had lost too many people, seen too much, he didn't want them to regret anything if something were to happen. Even though they all did their best, Diggle had lost enough comrades in the army not to know that danger was a by product of their lives.

He didn't want his friends to be left with 'what ifs' in case anything ever happened. Besides, he had a bet with Lyla to win, and he knew her, she wouldn't stop gloating if she was right. Add to that the pregnancy, and that desire he had within himself to protect her, to do whatever she needed to be comfortable, mixed with her gloating? Hell no, he hadn't signed up for that. He needed those two to get their shit together, pronto.

"Fine, water board him for all I care," Felicity huffed as she walked across the medical space to her babies.


	16. Chapter 16

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 16 -**

"It wasn't supposed to be taken literally, Oliver," Felicity admonished the smug man, still holding an empty bucket over Ted Kord's body.

"Oh?" He asked, smirking to the angry blonde by his side. "My bad-"

"Ah, ah, laugh it up, buddy, but next time Emma wakes up at five in the morning, I'll think of that method," she retorted, wiggling her finger in his face, "we'll see what you have to say about that."

"Um...guys? Sleeping beauty's awake," Diggle told them, nodding to the man on the surgical table who was struggling to get out of his restraints. "Think your little spat can wait?"

"What the fuck?" Ted Kord screamed, wiggling on the table as he realized he wasn't along.

"Yes, what the fuck indeed, Kord." Oliver smiled grimly, regarding the blue latex costume the Kord heir was presently wearing.

"Queen? What the hell? Where am I?"

"Come on, Oliver," Felicity huffed, "I think we can untie him, don't you?"

"Not just yet, Felicity," he warned, adopting his favorite stern tone. "Now listen closely, Kord. I could unstrap you and we could have a grown up conversation, or I could use more persuasive methods. It's up to you-"

"Really, Queen? The easy way or the hard way huh?" Ted Kord was full on laughing, which only angered Oliver more. "Is that all you can do?" The other billionaire asked, obviously not impressed by his counterpart's speech.

"I wouldn't test the limits of my temper, if I were you," Oliver snapped, tightening the restraints holding the inventor down to emphasize his point.

"Ah, fuck, Queen, fine, I'll bite. What do you want?"

"That's more like it," he gave him a twisted grin, "how about you explain to me...What is _that_?" He added, waving his hand towards the blue latex outfit.

"What does it look like? What do you think, pretty boy?" Kord asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as he spoke.

"Well from where I'm standing it looks like you're going to a wild party. Dropped any acid, lately, Kord-"

"Oliver," Felicity started, approaching the surgical table again, "untie him, please."

"Fine," he snapped to his blonde, promptly releasing the man, "but we're not done."

"Look, I think it's obvious I'm not welcome here. I'll answer your questions then go, alright?" Ted Kord leveled him with a glare of his own as he rubbed his sore wrists, nodding in thanks to Felicity who brought him a glass of water.

"So?" Oliver demanded impatiently.

"OK, well short version it is then. A branch expansion in Starling City brought me here, I heard about the drug, thought I'd check it out-"

"And the blue latex?"

"Green isn't that glorious either-"

"Hey, at least people cannot see me from a mile away," Oliver interjected while Diggle and Felicity snorted, watching the two vigilante pick a fight over colors, of all things.

"Yeah, well, not my fucking choice, Queen, complain to my mentor. He used to have a fascination with scarabs and to be fair, the costume was midnight blue at first. I've only recently began testing this one, it's bulletproof, fire resistant, it can endure nuclear radiation-"

"OK, OK," Diggle cut him off, "we get it."

"Right, so that drug killed Dan-"

"Who's Dan?" Felicity asked softly, watching Kord's face take on a somber look.

"Dan Garret. He was my teacher, he died of a drug overdose...Or so they pretend, I've been trying to find the person responsible for his death. Before he passed away, the drug was starting to become a sensation in Gotham's underground scene, with all sorts of wild theories around it. Some people said it was the best drug they'd ever taken, others that it was a disaster waiting to happen...It was rumored to be a hidden explosive, which is why Dan was trying to get a hold of its creator. He left a message for me the night he died, telling me he was close to the truth, but then..." He trailed off, pointedly avoiding their eyes as he sighed.

"See? I told you it wasn't him," Felicity smugly pointed out to Oliver's dismay and Dig's amusement.

"You did? That's sweet, Miss...?" Ted Kord turned towards the blonde, smiling as she turned a lovely shade of red.

"Smoak. Felicity Smoak," she grinned back and shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he answered smoothly, "may I call you Felicity?"

"No, you may not," Oliver snapped as he frowned to the playboy.

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed, glaring at her partner.

"It's alright, Miss Smoak-"

"Felicity, please," she amended.

"As you wish, Felicity-"

"If you two are quite finished flirting, perhaps we could go back to the problem at hand?" Oliver grunted, his eyes plainly displaying his annoyance at the other billionaire. He nodded towards Zytle, still asleep on the other surgical table.

"What do you know about him?" Diggle asked, finally regaining his composure.

"Almost nothing, to be honest," Kord rubbed his palm against his chin, "I know he's been working for Kord Industries for close to a decade, recently requested a transfer to the new branch in Starling. He had yet to pop on my radar. Though, lucky for you, I was in my office when he decided to use your delightful Felicity as a hostage." Ted Kord couldn't resist taunting the furious man in front of him, waggling his eyebrows while said woman had her back to them, frenetically typing on her computers.

"Luck is a matter of perception," Oliver grunted, "you could have killed her-"

"But I didn't," he retorted immediately, "please, Queen, give me some credit. Now that you know my story, how about telling me yours? How did golden boy Queen turn into Starling's vigilante? Weren't you lost at sea?"

"Oh man," Diggle laughed, highly enjoying the moment between both vigilantes, watching it like he would a good soap opera. The only missing thing was a couch, junk food and Lyla- who was going to regret missing that little scene between the Blue Beetle and the Green Arrow.

Oliver started to tell the familiar story to the Kord heir, under his partners watchful glance.

"For five years, I was stranded on a hellish island..."


	17. Chapter 17

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.

**And to my reviewers:**

**Renaissancebooklover108 -** Thanks a lot, I hope you like this new one just as much ;)**  
**

**giseleb - **Thanks :) Tell me what you thought about this one?

**nrdhrd3** - Ask and ye shall receive :P Thanks for taking the time to review, I'm glad you like it.

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 17 -**

"But that doesn't make any sense," Felicity exclaimed when Diggle explained Zytle's plan to her, after a lengthy interrogation, courtesy of the bi colored dynamic duo in their foundry.

"It rarely does," her friend told her softly, patting her arm while Oliver and Kord argued a few meters away.

Both men had teamed up to force the newly dubbed Count to reveal his evil deeds along with his future schemes. The man pretended to work alone, which Oliver was finding very unlikely given the stakes and the way he had orchestrated the whole thing, but had Kord quite convinced.

"Why would he take the time to create such a side effect if he had no intention on using it? It can't be a coincidence, Diggle, people just don't randomly explode...At least as far as I know- though I'm not an expert on turning people into explosive devices, I'm pretty sure it's not just something you stumble upon," she argued, sharing a dubious look with Oliver. "And that's it? So, he says he worked alone, had no plan and what, we believe him? Just like that? It doesn't make sense," she told him again, shaking her head back and forth as she spoke her mind.

"I don't know, Felicity," he sighed, "maybe we've overestimated him, hell, we all thought there was some method to his madness-"

"Then why isn't there? The has to be a reason." She reiterated, convinced that there was no such thing as a coincidence in their world, much less with the kind of people Werner Zytle turned out to be.

"Look, sometimes, things happen without one. And criminals don't have the most balanced views, they don't have the same beliefs systems...Some of them have no concept of right or wrong, others know exactly what they're doing and they act despite of that. You can't always find a reason, Felicity. Our world is- hell, it's a fucked up place, we both know that," Dig tried to comfort her, to no avail. "Maybe we were too paranoid after Slade Wilson, there can't be a connection every-"

"But there was, last time," Felicity retorted firmly, standing her ground as always. She appreciated Dig's efforts to reassure her, but she couldn't stop her mind running through every piece of evidence they'd reviewed against Count Vertigo- the second of his breed, to what he said to her that day...Something didn't add up and she wasn't shy about expressing her confusion.

She told the same thing to the men who joined them five minutes later, reiterating her doubts about the man's story, urging them to consider that he was lying to them. Oliver shared her feelings, it all felt too big for such a small story.

"I don't agree," Kord said, watching the Queen heir have a silent conversation with his blonde genius, their eyes holding doubt and concern. "You don't know that. Listen, the man is obviously crazy, what's to say he didn't do it just for fun-"

"That's ridiculous. Tell him Oliver," Felicity cut him off, rolling her eyes at his simple explanation of Zytle's madness. "If he just wanted to make money, he had no need to create chaos throughout Starling City to achieve his goal. In fact, it would have been easier for him not to attract that much attention-"

"I thought he barely registered on your radar before Oliver's tip?"

"She's right," said man backed his partner up. He had the same damn feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't right with Zytle's story and they could both sense that.

"Yes, she is," Zytle yelled, from across the room, surprising all of them. "You're definitely the genius," he laughed as he winked to the blonde. "I'm glad I wasn't wrong after all."

They heard a crunching noise and Zytle laughed again, the sound of his madness echoing all around the foundry, while the three man rushed to the other side of the room- where he had been tied up, then interrogated, when he woke up. Felicity watched her crazy kidnapper's body contract, his muscles twitching with spasms, white foam at his mouth, his eyes turning red as he seized on the chair. The worst thing wasn't the view- don't get her wrong, it was awful to watch his lips contract, distorting in a horrid grimace as white saliva foamed, progressively suffocating him.

No, the worst was the sounds he made when he died, as if he were choking on his own saliva before their eyes. She would never forget the gurgling sound nor the last moment, when he seemed to turn into a normal man for a second, just a little bit scared as the time came. Felicity wanted to crawl into a corner and block it all out, forget she had seen it, bleach her brain if she had to, but her first impulse was to go into panic mode, scream eventually, then cry, preferably topping it all with a nice little buzz courtesy of her favorite wine.

Unfortunately for her, she didn't have that luxury right now. Oliver turned to her, and she knew he relied too much on her for Felicity to allow herself to break down. She had higher expectations for herself. She was Felicity Smoak, goddammit, a valued and esteemed member of their team. A partner, Oliver had told her back when Vertigo, well the first of its name, had tried to gamble with her life. Her duty to their crusade was the same as it had always been. They needed her to do her mumbo jumbo, find a way in for them to do their thing, they needed her input with their plans and her guidance to come back safely. So, she put her big girl panties on, took a deep breath and spoke.

"Not to be a smart ass or anything, but I'd like to point out that I called this one," she glared meaningfully to Kord, claiming her seat back in front of her babies, not wasting a minute to find out what the hell was going on. "Oh, and Oliver? You need to call Raisa, I have a feeling neither of us is going to be able to come back in time to tuck Emma in bed tonight-"

"Shit, Felicity-" he started, laying a hand against his neck as he sighed.

"Call her, no discussion, we both need to apologize to your daughter and I would feel better if I said goodnight," she cut him off, pushing her glasses back on top of her nose. "Now no more talking, we have a puppet master to catch."

"Atta girl," Dig smiled as the girl he considered like a good friend, almost a little sister by now. Let it be known that Felicity was no one's damsel in distress, he thought while he watched Oliver nod approvingly to their blonde and her 'take no prisoner' attitude.

Felicity Smoak was a special breed indeed. While others would have cowered, she wanted to take the fight to whoever was responsible for the rising death toll in Starling City- their team's very own bitch with a wifi, on the warpath once again. Oliver couldn't help thinking that whoever was pulling the strings beneath the curtain was about to regret ever messing with his blonde's life.

And skilled as he was, even he couldn't help the slight shiver that coursed through his body while he watched her concentrate on the information she was screening on her computers. It was pride and lust, mixed with just a tiny bit of fear. Oliver Queen was man enough to admit he wouldn't want to get on Felicity Smoak's bad side.


	18. Chapter 18

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers:**

** 1** - ah ah, I'm not telling just yet, you'll have to continue reading to find out :)

**Keiko Luna** - Thank you, hope you like this chapter ;)

**onetreefan** - Thanks, here you go...tell me how you liked it?

**lanibapt** - Thank you, hopefully it will continue with this one ;)

**Renaissancebooklover108** - It's explained more thoroughly in this chapter...I thought my hints in the last one were clearer, sorry :P

**nrdhrd3** - Thanks, Every time I see your nick I think about Chuck and sigh :) But back to your comment, it's one of the things I love with Felicity. She's got balls, if you'll pardon my French ;)

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 18 -**

"'Licity?" Emma whispered. tiptoeing into the room barefoot, wearing the Star Wars pajamas Felicity had bought for her.

"Yes, sweetheart?" One thing was for certain, Darth Vader had never looked cuter than right now, the blonde genius thought with a grin as she answered the sleepy kid.

"I saw a scary man," the child told her as she clutched her favorite security blanket to her chest.

"Oh? You had a bad dream, Em?" Felicity asked, turning away from her tablet as she watched Oliver's daughter cross the room to settle in her lap.

"No," the little girl answered, shaking her head while Felicity hugged her to her body. "He was on the win- wi'dow, " she stuttered a bit, sucking her thumb into her mouth while the eldest blonde frowned.

"What? Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare, sweet pea?" Felicity felt Emma's heartbeat going a mile a minute against her chest, stroking her hair to calm her down, as her own heart started to beat erratically. She reached for her tablet, bringing up her apartment's security feed with one hand, the other rubbing circles against Emma's back.

"Nah huh," she popped her thumb out, snuggling against Felicity's neck. "I saw him, he had a weird face with a big big nose," she mumbled, her breathing progressively slowing down until she was almost nodding off, feeling comfortable enough to go back to sleep, surrounded by Felicity's warmth.

Felicity watched her feeds intensely, going so far as to rewind it a bit, trying not to miss anything. Emma was far too important not to be thorough. She loved the little girl, though it wasn't that hard, the pint sized cutie was adorable and she'd always had a soft spot for kids. She often felt much more comfortable with them than adults, they were still untainted by the world's ugliness and they had a certain perception of it, full of possibilities still, that she felt enthralling.

She found a small anomaly in her security feeds, nothing major but coupled with Emma's tale, it had her rattled. Putting it on hold for the time being, she dialed Oliver, with his daughter still nuzzled against her, only standing up to check the locks on her door and the windows. Felicity was walking through her apartment, going from one room to the other while her heart rate was going up. She tightened her arms around Emma as she listened to the dial tone, keeping her phone stuck against her ear with her shoulder, only partly comforted when she saw nothing seemed out of place. Still, if her time with Oliver and Team Arrow had taught her something, it was caution.

So, mindful of her precious cargo, she went to her room and laid the little girl on her bed, smiling at the child when her only reaction was to pout and roll into a ball. Felicity opened her closet, putting aside her dresses to get access to her safe, where Oliver had started keeping a gun alongside her back up tablet and passports, money...She remembered the first time he had talked about it with her, then later, when he had shown her the gun, money and papers, telling her it might be paranoid, but with what they did with their nights, he'd much rather be safe than sorry. Her eyes must have been wide as saucers back then, watching him stuff them into the place she had freed for Oliver, alongside her most precious piece of jewelry and the tablet who held all her life backed up on it, in case anything ever happened to her other one.

But today, with the silly fear twisting her insides while she was alone with Emma, she was grateful. She wasn't like Oliver, who could probably write a book on the hundred ways to kill a man with one's bare hands or Dig, who had the same skills, thanks to the Army. They were the brawn, she was the brain. Even though they had started to give her self defense lesson to rectify that, she wasn't up to villains level just yet. And these days, with their enemy still hiding in the shadows after Count Vertigo number two's suicide by poison in their lair, she wasn't willing to take any risks. Word on the street seemed to point toward a crime syndicate organization, or so Oliver had learned through his Bratva contacts, but they had no confirmation, nor proof yet.

As of now, all they had to go on was the incident with Zytle- who had a fake tooth implanted in case he was ever caught- and whispers here and there. Alas, the dose of poison contained in the implant, once he'd crushed the teeth, had spread much too fast for them to prevent his death. So, basically, they had a bunch of non connected events, and hard as she was trying, Felicity couldn't discover the link connecting them, nor anything in Zytle's past that might have highlighted a name, pinpointed a location, something that could help them find out who was behind the drug and subsequent explosions all over Starling City.

So far, the puppet master had eluded them, but she wasn't giving up just yet, she thought as she took the gun out while Oliver's voice greeted her through the phone. "This is Oliver Queen's phone, please leave a message-"

Felicity groaned, but left him a message nevertheless, explaining the glitch in her security feeds, after telling him about Emma's 'bad man' sighting. "Call me back, Oliver," she added before hanging up.

She tried again, to no avail, hesitated calling Diggle but refrained at the last minute when she remembered about their scheduled OB/GYN visit the next day- her friend had complained all afternoon about crazy doctors' schedule, though she knew he was very eager to see his baby and check on his health. Going for plan B, Felicity loaded the gun, putting it on her bedside table as she laid down with Emma, cuddling the little girl close.

She was about to get up, resolved to get back to work when she heard a window smashing in the kitchen- or the dining room perhaps, she wasn't sure. She reached for the gun, and ran to the door, locking it as fast as she could while she dialed Oliver again. This time, she left him an angry message, asking that he get his ass back home ASAP, preferably before they were maimed in her own home, she added in a scalding but hushed tone.

Where was her favorite vigilante when she needed him? As an essential member of their team, she felt it was only right that she get dibs on him whenever she was in danger. Sighing angrily at the irony, Felicity thought about getting the hell out of dodge for a minute, quickly coming to terms with the fact that pulling an escape act with a toddler seemed much more risky than wait it out in the safety of her bedroom. There, she had a vantage point on anyone coming through the door, and she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on whoever thought this looked like a fine apartment to burglarize.

She threw a quick glance over her shoulder to see Emma still heavily sleeping. The kid had not inherited her dad's light sleeping habits apparently, which Felicity was grateful for, she'd only get scared, and it was better that way. She wiped the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead, took her stance with her feet firmly planted on the ground, legs apart, and waited.

Felicity heard a commotion outside her door and aimed the gun at it, her trigger finger ready to fire at the intruder who kicked down her bedroom door. Startled by the Emma's wailing behind her, at the loud noise that had woken her up, Felicity accidentally pulled the trigger, firing at their attacker blindly.


	19. Chapter 19

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers :**

**onetreefan** - Can't spoil the beginning for you, but you're good ;) Thanks, I hope you like it.

**annependragon** - I can't lie, I'm glad...Your nails will thank me for this one I think.

**Renaissancebooklover108** - He was a sneaky fucker, sorry :) You know her, girl's got fire. Ah, well I don't mind being a guilty pleasure.

**Keiko Luna** - Thank you. Ha, I won't say, you'll just have to read it... I hope you enjoy this one just as much.

**nrdhrd3** - Good :) Perhaps you'll be surprised then? I loved it too and I have to say Casey, I miss his grunts!

**Galatea Black** - I hope that was your face at the end of the last chapter lol :P

**lateVMlover** - I guess when you're a part of Team Arrow, your first thought might be to call Oliver or Dig, or even Roy, rather than 911, no? At least that's how I see it, sorry if you didn't find it realistic.

**snr3231** - Thank you so much, I hope you'll like this chapter too :)

**lanibapt** - Oups is right lol...The wall almost did, but then I had a change of heart :)

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 19 -**

"Shit, Felicity!" Oliver yelled from the doorway. "Did you just fucking shoot me? Unbelievable-"

"Oh my God, Oliver," she cried out, interrupting her bemused partner. "I- I'm sorry...It went off and I wasn't planning on shooting you," she apologized to Oliver, still a bit shell shocked as he watched the bullet hole in his leather outfit.

"And that's such a relief," he snapped at Felicity. "Now give me that gun before you hurt yourself, or me actually."

He took the Glock off of her hands and clicked the security on, squeezing it in the back of his pants before he unzipped his vest. He checked the state of his shoulder while his blonde genius mumbled a few more excuses, barely grunting when the pain flared in his arm as his fingers probed the bullet hole.

"And they think you're the sweet, innocent one," he snorted at the perception people in general had of Felicity. "No need to shoot me to prove them wrong, I already know," Oliver shook his head, still partly annoyed and equally amazed.

"It was an accident," the blushing blonde argued, trying to avoid his piercing blue eyes, full of wonder and amusement, whenever she did something out of the ordinary.

Felicity couldn't help sighing at the peculiar look he gave her. It wasn't good for their 'let's stay friends and forget what you said' routine. Though he always had this intense way of looking at the world, and incidentally, her. Perhaps after years of seclusion, everything seemed more important than it was for the average Joe simply going through the motions. Or maybe he just liked to unnerve people with his brooding vigilante number, that was a possibility she wouldn't cross off her list just yet.

"Did you catch the intruder?" Felicity asked softly, watching him self diagnose the injury she had just inflicted upon him.

"It's just a through and through," he told her with barely a hint of annoyance lingering in his voice. "And for the record? It hurts me that you feel the need to ask," Oliver smirked at his fierce yet embarrassed partner, currently trying not to cringe as blood trickled from his shoulder.

She had gotten good at that, he thought in passing, besides, his partner wasn't the squeamish kind. He had become used to her help, and nowadays, she was the one he went to, rather than Diggle, whenever he had a bandage to change or he had to be stitched up after a mission went sideways.

Nevertheless, Felicity grimaced as she realized he would have a scar. Another one that is, but a scar she would be responsible for this time. She might have been responsible for his injuries when she had foolishly investigated Vertigo number one on her own, but this time was worse. It wasn't a bullet graze or a bruise, no, a full blown bullet hole scar would mark his skin, right there, because she had misfired a gun and he just happened to be on the receiving end of that barrel.

"'Licity?" Both partners snapped their heads towards the bed when they heard the little girl call out.

"Shit," Oliver swore as he sidestepped out of the doorway, trying to avoid her line of sight, thus the need to explain to his daughter why daddy was playing dress up in the middle of the night. "I need to call Lance and deal with the wannabe thief," he whispered to Felicity.

"It was just a thief?" The blonde hesitated a bit, before asking her favorite vigilante for reassurance.

"Yeah, with a creepy fucking mask on-"

"Are you serious? Who wears masks- err, scratch that...Never mind," she amended as Oliver smiled, enjoying his partner's quirks as much as always.

"OK, so you deal with Lance and the...um-" Felicity trailed off, rolling her eyes as a smile tugged at his lips.

"He didn't have much time before I knocked him out, but he did manage to tell me he was the Phoney Crook, whatever that means," Oliver frowned at Felicity for a brief moment, well aware that they'd need to check his story as soon as he was in SCPD's custody.

"The Phoney Crook? Is that his code name or something? What kind of name is that? And I want to know...Since when does every bad guy roaming the streets of our city need his own public avatar to go with it? And the mask...was it, you know, like yours?" She fired one question after the other, but Oliver had become too proficient in Felicity's regular rants to let it bother him, waiting her out until she was out of breath to give her his input.

"No, it looked like one of those commedia dell'arte ones, with the white color and disproportionate nose...kinda like Pinocchio?" He waved his hand as explained, unable to remember exactly which mask was what, not that it mattered much now anyways.

"Why, I'm impressed Mr Queen, you do know your classics," Felicity beamed at him, glad to see a bit of lightness return to their interactions, and as ever, just a little bit fascinated by the complexity of Oliver- his character, qualities and flaws, but mostly his contradictions.

He'd been a playboy back in his days, the poster child for the idle rich and famous yet here he was, referring to 16th-18th centuries Italian theater. The island had changed his philandering ways, along with many facets of his personality, but she believed those contradictions were not born there. Oliver had them in him all along, it just took him longer than most people to realize he could be something else than just a regular asshole. Perhaps the island had only sped up the process, nothing more. Like most men, and not unlike herself either, in fact, as every human probably did, he had conflicting interests within himself.

His mind and heart often oscillated between good and a darker path, whether to become a hero or a vigilante, and he struggled. But in times like these, Felicity thought he was really no different than the rest of them. No one's soul is either truly blackened by evil nor entirely pure, human beings most often than not were a mess of those contradictions. Some cultivated them, others tried to ignore them, but mankind seemed fated to waver between those polar opposites, constantly navigating troubled waters as they lived and endured.

"You do know that I went to prep school, right?" Oliver asked, smirking at his blonde genius who was still grinning, never mind the fact that she looked a bit too baffled for his taste. "It's not rocket science," he added as an afterthought, feeling a tiny sting at his lack of Academic achievements, especially compared to his MIT graduate of a partner.

"Sure, and how many of those were you expelled from?" Felicity beamed at him, glad that they could still tease each other after a shitty night.

"Tsk, Miss Smoak, you wound me," Oliver winked as he came closer to the doorway where Felicity looked at him, not daring to take another step towards Starling's reformed golden boy- at least not tonight.

She threw a glance backwards to his daughter, watched the kid suck her thumb as she cuddled his shirt, reminding them that they weren't alone and things needed to be done. They shared another one of their famous looks and smiled to each other, taking strength and comfort in their partnership, then each of them went back on task. Oliver, to that scamming piece of shit still half conscious where he had haphazardly tied him, on Felicity's living room, upon incapacitating him when he first arrived at the apartment; and Felicity to reassure Emma, and make sure that his daughter knew she was safe.

Oliver retreated to the room a few steps ahead, but not before listening to his two girls for a moment. Satisfied that Emma wasn't panicking anymore, and that his partner had the situation under control- not that he'd ever doubted her, she was a remarkable woman after all- Oliver took out his phone, appreciating that he couldn't be the Arrow and Mr Queen at the same time, he activated his voice modulator and called Captain Lance.


	20. Chapter 20

Guess who's back? I know, I'm a jerk, disappearing like that, leaving you high and dry while I enjoyed my summer... I hope you had a great one, sorry for those of you who couldn't enjoy it, and mea maxima culpa for the (very) late update, hopefully you won't hold it against me ;)

**I own nothing but my words. Everything else belongs to its rightful owner.**

I always appreciate feedback...Good, bad or in between, I want to hear what you have to say. **Enjoy & Thanks for reading. **

**Special thanks to those who put this little drabble on alert and/or favorited.**

**And to my reviewers :**

**onetreefan - **Thank you. Me too, I tried to do it justice here, and expand it of course. Ha ha that I won't say, it did cross my mind :) Though you can expect more interactions with her in the next chapters.

**annependragon** - I knew it, I'm glad- especially given the late update ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry in advance (I hope) for the repeat nail biting phenomenon!

**dhh** - Hey, no hard feelings, it's your absolute right to hate my little story and move on, no matter the reason...Just as it is mine to write whatever the hell I want. That said, regarding Oliver's daughter and not prodigal son...First, Arrow has already strayed quite a lot from comic canon, and I'm pretty sure they will continue to do so. They draw from the comics mythology, not translate it to TV word by word, so we could be surprised in the future. Believe it or not, Mr Amell's daughter had nothing to do with my little drabble. I felt like Connor was the obvious route, and I wanted to write something different. I think part of the appeal was Felicity's interactions with the child, what she could see in her, what parallels she might draw from her own experience and yes, imagining a reformed playboy suddenly saddled with a daughter is always highly funny to me. Karma, anyone?lol Anyways like I said, no one's holding a knife under your throat to make you read my fic, and you can absolutely believe it's the worst boring thing you've ever read, I'm still going to write it. As I want it. Can't make everybody happy...Though thanks for pointing out what made you hate it.

**Renaissancebooklover108 -** Ha ha, thank you, me too...I love the lightness they can sometimes have despite the shit storm they're in!

**- Anchored To The Tide, Pt 20 -**

A few days after the home invasion and subsequent capture of the so-called Phoney Crook, who turned out to be nothing more than a crazed thief, high as a kite on that same damn drug they'd been trying to eradicate, hence his lack of resistance; Oliver and Roy were running down some leads in the Glades.

"Where is it, Felicity?" Oliver asked, his voice inflected by the irritation he felt at their lack of results.

"One minute, Oliver, geez...Sometimes, I'm not sure you fully appreciate how hard it is to get into those babies. You do know the satellites aren't supposed to be hacked, right? Which is why I can't just swipe my fingers three times over a tablet and bingo," she snapped back, not willing to be his doormat, though she understood his frustration. "And if you're not satisfied with my skills-"

"It's fine, Felicity," he huffed under his breath, "I'm sorry, alright? I'm just- we should have found them by now," he tried to appease his blonde partner, lest she decide to take her expertise elsewhere.

"I know, Oliver, but we're closing in," she tried to make him see the positive in every thing, be his anchor whenever the going got tough. "Besides, the number we've found in the Phoney Crook's pockets was actually useful-"

"I thought we weren't calling him that?" He was able to tease back, despite the heavy weight on his shoulders.

This morning again, two of those human bombers had exploded in the upper part of their city, demolishing a grand total of two houses, killing three people and injuring five more. Time was running out, and they both knew it. Not only were the bombings becoming more frequent, but various Starling companies had seen their stock plummet, due to the instability in their town. It was only a matter of time before they cut back on jobs, putting hundreds of their employees out of their paychecks, raising unrest in the town. With little to no lead in the horizon, their team had lucked out when whoever was behind the drug ring and the attacks had sicked the thief on his partner's apartment, giving them their best lead so far, with the phone the masked man had in his pockets.

Felicity had traced it to the Glades, using all of that IT magic Oliver loved to watch but barely understood, her nimble fingers typing twice as fast as any normal human being should be able to on her computer- only looking up to scream in triumph when she had broken the phone's encryption. Diggle acted as a liaison with Amanda Waller and her merry band of Argus sanctioned suicide squad while Roy went with Oliver to check out the location Felicity had given them. Overall, it seemed like a pretty solid plan to each member of their team. Even Laurel, who had been reaching out recently to help their crusade, had pitched in, promising a team of ADA's on call that night- to help them get a judge to sign on any warrant her father and his detectives might need and basically, to oversee the legal aspects, in case Team Arrow made progresses on their case. Oliver was adamant that no one would walk free on this one, whether it be through the justice system or one of his arrows.

So far, their lead had yet to pan out, but they were not losing hope. Felicity was the best at what she did, if she told him to go left, then he'd damn well go left. He trusted her, the intel she gave them, and her capacity to see their mission through- no questions asked.

"Shouldn't we split up?" Roy demanded, anxious to prove his worth to the man who had saved his life in more ways than one.

"No, I'm still not convinced you-"

"Oh, come on! Why am I here then? I'll behave, promise, dad," he saluted Oliver with a cheeky grin.

"Fine, but you take this one," he pointed to the last building they needed to check, almost outside of the perimeter Felicity had indicated to them before they suited up earlier tonight.

Roy grumbled but went along with it, muttering about feeble trust and fucking big brothers on the way. Oliver smiled at his retreating back, his young sidekick was starting to heal from his Mirakuru'd days, and he wouldn't want to be the one who dashed the seeds of redemption. Still, he'd need to keep an eye on him, he thought briefly as he informed his blonde partner over the comms.

"We split up, he's going to the back, I'm taking the two in the front," he told her in what she had dubbed his 'Arrow voice', a distorted, more authoritative version of his own tone.

"Don't worry, I'll watch his back, just as I have yours," she reassured him on the other end of his earpiece.

"I know," he agreed, smiling as he was preparing to enter the abandoned building. "I'm going in."

"Be careful," Felicity whispered, always worried whenever one of her boys or Sara went into the field. "There's nothing on the thermal imaging, but those can be tampered with..." She trailed off, since they both knew it could go sideways at any given time, no matter how efficient she was, there was no full proof plan and she was no oracle.

Oliver made his way inside, sidestepping tangled wires on the floor, his bow drawn tight as he scanned the room with his eyes. He saw nothing out of the ordinary at first, no one seemed to be on site, but he could see papers everywhere he went. Burnt to a crisp on the floor, but still, that was tangible evidence that someone had been there. He went across the floor, trying to access what he surmised to be the main office, and had to force his way into the locked door, kicking it down to enter the room.

There was a loud noise when he passed the threshold, and he saw a blinking lamp start in the corner- alternatively green, green, green then red, over and over again. Oliver watched the mesmerizing colors, unable to tear his gaze away from the sequence, which seemed endless. His brain experienced a frightening haze, all at once euphoric and sad, vaguely registering the foggy breeze spread in the room as he heard his partner call his name.

"'Li...ci...ty?" he muttered, barely conscious of his surroundings anymore. "I- I was...air...d-d...huh...druh," he tried to form a full sentence but his brain couldn't muster the strength sufficient to command his mouth and connect his brain to it. He lost his grip on reality, only focusing on the lights as they lulled him to a deep slumber.

_Green. Green. Green. Red_


End file.
